First Watch closes at $12.86 after four-day decline; Advent sale dates to 2025
Key Facts
First Watch Restaurant Group shares closed at $12.86 on November 6, after four consecutive days of declines, while no new sale by Advent International during November had been confirmed. A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows a different transaction dated September 8, 2025, in which Advent sold 4,400,000 shares at $17.67 per share. That filing therefore does not establish that the company sold shares in a November session or that a recent transaction caused the price decline. First Watch shares had closed at $13.63 on November 3, then continued to fall in the following sessions. The move came after the company reported third-quarter results, with its investor day scheduled for November 12.
The stock’s recorded closes fell from $13.63 on November 3 to $13.50 on November 4, then $13.12 on November 5, and $12.86 on November 6. The November 3 close coincided with the announcement of third-quarter results, and trading volume that day was 3,488,753 shares. On November 6, trading volume was 2,041,955 shares. These figures indicate a downward path across the four sessions, but do not identify a cause for the price move. The data provided do not include the session high and low on November 6.
In a filing dated September 8, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recorded Advent’s sale of 4,400,000 First Watch shares for $17.67 per share. The filing showed beneficial ownership of 5,289,784 shares after the transaction. These figures relate to an earlier transaction and provide no evidence of a new sale in November 2026. They also do not establish that Advent disposed of its entire stake or that the 2025 transaction affected the stock’s trading during November sessions. The stock’s decline in the first week of the month therefore remains separate from any causal explanation tied to a recent shareholder sale.
First Watch said third-quarter 2026 revenue rose 10.7% to $349.9 million, compared with $316.0 million in the corresponding quarter of 2025. At the same time, total same-restaurant sales grew 1.0%, while customer traffic at those restaurants fell 1.9%. The indicators show a divergence between sales growth and a decline in customer counts at comparable restaurants during the quarter. The company also said its operating income margin remained at 3.2%. These results add fundamental context to trading after the earnings announcement, without explaining on their own the stock’s subsequent declines.
First Watch’s net income rose to $4.8 million in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $3.0 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA also increased to $39.7 million from $34.1 million. On expansion, the company opened 16 restaurants during the quarter, bringing its total network to 681 restaurants in 33 states as of September 27, 2026. The network included 601 company-owned restaurants and 80 franchised restaurants. These figures provide a picture of earnings growth and expansion alongside the divergence between same-restaurant sales growth and falling customer traffic.
Chief Executive Chris Tomasso raised the company’s fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA outlook to approximately $136 million, saying the updated forecast puts it at the high end of the previous range. First Watch also updated its estimate for revenue growth in the fiscal year to approximately 13.5%. The outlook includes the opening of 60 net new restaurants during the year. These projections provide the company’s guidance for the current year following its third-quarter results. The investor day scheduled for November 12 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time is the next opportunity for shareholders to hear updates from management.