Shake Shack Releases Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2025 Business Update
Shake Shack Inc. (“Shake Shack” or the “Company”) the globally recognized fast-casual restaurant brand known for its premium burgers, shakes, and hospitality-driven dining experience, has released a comprehensive business update covering its fiscal fourth quarter and full fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. The update was issued ahead of the Company’s presentation at the 28th Annual ICR Conference, taking place today in Orlando, Florida. Alongside its preliminary unaudited financial results, Shake Shack also shared its initial financial outlook for fiscal 2026 and reaffirmed its long-term growth and profitability targets.
Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment characterized by persistent inflation and commodity cost pressures—particularly elevated beef prices—Shake Shack delivered solid operating and financial performance in 2025. Management emphasized that disciplined execution, continued brand investment, and strong operational leadership across its restaurant base enabled the Company to generate growth while expanding margins and advancing its long-term strategy.
Rob Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Shake Shack, highlighted the Company’s momentum and expansion progress, noting that 2025 marked a pivotal year in Shake Shack’s growth journey. In January 2025, the Company significantly increased its estimated total addressable market for Company-operated Shacks from 450 locations to 1,500, reflecting confidence in the brand’s scalability, unit economics, and sustained consumer demand.
“I am pleased to share that in 2025, we opened 45 new Company-operated Shacks, and we currently have the largest development pipeline in the Company’s history,” said Lynch. “We now operate 373 Company-operated restaurants and have guided to open an additional 55 to 60 Shacks in 2026. At the same time, we continue to improve returns on new restaurants by expanding operating margins, lowering build costs, and, most importantly, driving higher sales.”
Shake Shack’s operating performance in the fourth quarter of 2025 reflected both progress and near-term challenges. Same-Shack sales improved sequentially throughout the quarter, demonstrating resilience and customer engagement. However, results during the final six weeks of the quarter fell short of internal expectations due to adverse weather conditions, particularly in the Northeast, one of the Company’s most heavily penetrated and weather-sensitive regions.
Despite these headwinds, Shake Shack still delivered positive same-Shack sales growth and positive traffic for the quarter, underscoring the strength of its value proposition and brand relevance. Lynch credited this performance to several key drivers, including ongoing culinary innovation, targeted value platforms, and increased marketing investments.
Signature menu introductions such as the “Big Shack” helped generate excitement and repeat visits, while strategic promotions—including the popular “$1, $3, $5” in-app offers—enhanced value perception and encouraged digital engagement. Additionally, increased media investment contributed to higher brand awareness and traffic growth across multiple markets.
Operational excellence remained a cornerstone of Shake Shack’s 2025 performance. Lynch praised the Company’s restaurant leadership teams for delivering meaningful margin improvement while simultaneously enhancing both team member and guest experiences. These achievements were particularly notable given the inflationary pressures impacting the restaurant industry, including sustained increases in beef costs.
“The exceptional work our restaurant leaders have done to strengthen operations and improve margins cannot be overstated,” Lynch said. “Their disciplined execution and strategic leadership position us well to drive productivity and navigate an environment of elevated beef prices.”
Shake Shack also made significant progress across its supply chain in 2025. Initiatives aimed at cost reduction, supplier diversification, and quality improvement helped mitigate risk and improve overall efficiency. Importantly, these efforts reduced the Company’s reliance on single suppliers, strengthening resilience and supporting long-term scalability.
Looking ahead, Shake Shack outlined a clear and focused strategy for fiscal 2026, centered on profitable growth, operational efficiency, and continued investment in people. Management expects top-line growth to be driven by a combination of culinary and marketing innovation, value-oriented promotions, and ongoing enhancements to the guest experience. At the same time, the Company plans to further expand margins through improved restaurant-level efficiency and continued optimization of its supply chain.
Capital discipline will remain a priority, with Shake Shack focused on controlling construction costs and refining kitchen designs to improve returns on invested capital. Additionally, the Company reaffirmed its commitment to investing in team member development, recognizing its workforce as a critical enabler of rapid restaurant growth and long-term success.
“As we continue to accelerate and profitably scale our business, we expect to gain even greater leverage, particularly across our general and administrative cost structure,” Lynch concluded.
As part of the ICR Conference, Shake Shack’s management team will present at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, January 12, 2026. The presentation will feature Rob Lynch, Chief Executive Officer; Stephanie Sentell, Chief Operations Officer; Andrew McCaughan, Chief Development Officer; and Michael Kark, President of Global Licensing. A live webcast will be available through the Company’s Investor Relations website.
Preliminary Financial Results for Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Shake Shack reported total revenue of $400.5 million, bringing full-year revenue to approximately $1.45 billion. Licensing revenue contributed $15.3 million during the quarter and $54.1 million for the full year. Same-Shack sales increased 2.1% in the fourth quarter and 2.3% for the full year compared with 2024.
During fiscal 2025, the Company opened 45 new Company-operated Shacks, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and added 40 licensed Shacks globally, with 17 openings occurring in the final quarter.
Restaurant-level profit margin for the fourth quarter is expected to range between 22.6% and 22.8% of Shack sales, while full-year margins are projected at 22.5% to 22.7%. Net income for fiscal 2025 is estimated to be between $50 million and $60 million, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $208 million to $212 million.
Initial Fiscal 2026 Outlook and Long-Term Targets
For fiscal 2026, Shake Shack expects total revenue of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion, with licensing revenue of $59 million to $61 million. Same-Shack sales are projected to grow at a positive low single-digit rate. Restaurant-level profit margins are expected to improve further, reaching between 23.0% and 23.5%.
The Company plans to open approximately 55 to 60 Company-operated Shacks and 40 to 45 licensed locations in 2026. Adjusted EBITDA is forecasted to range from $237 million to $245 million, while net income is expected to remain between $50 million and $60 million.
Shake Shack reiterated its long-term ambition to exceed 1,500 Company-operated Shacks and achieve sustained low-teens revenue and unit growth, annual margin expansion of at least 50 basis points, and low- to high-teens adjusted EBITDA growth over the 2025–2027 period.
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