Sweetgreen’s Spyce gain lifts earnings despite an operating loss

Sweetgreen reported $125.8 million in first-quarter net income on May 7, 2026, despite a $34.3 million operating loss. The largest contributor was the disposal of its Spyce automation business.

The quarterly earnings release shows how a loss from operations became positive net income. Amounts below are millions of dollars for the 13 weeks ended March 29, 2026.

The combined interest-and-other line is calculated from the statement's individual entries. The disposal gain is larger than the final profit. Meanwhile, same-store sales fell 12.8%, and restaurant-level profit margin, a non-GAAP measure, fell to 10.0% from 17.9% a year earlier.

The cash-flow statement reports $17.2 million used in operating activities and $100 million of business-sale proceeds in investing activities. Positive reported earnings and cash received from a transaction therefore coexist with cash consumed by operations.

A December closing belongs to fiscal 2026#

Sweetgreen's fiscal 2025 ended December 28. The Spyce transaction closed December 29, the next day. Its February 26 year-end report identifies the sale as occurring after fiscal year-end, explaining why a calendar-2025 closing appears in fiscal-2026 results.

The earlier report provides the operating backdrop. Fourth-quarter revenue had fallen 3.5% to $155.2 million, with same-store sales down 11.5%. The company reported a $49.7 million quarterly net loss and a $134.1 million loss for the full fiscal year.

Management's transformation plan addressed execution, food quality and menu innovation, personalized customer engagement, brand relevance and disciplined investment. The company also described testing wraps in selected markets, with further expansion then conditional on meeting its criteria.

The earlier report also placed some sale costs in fiscal 2025. It attributed part of the fourth-quarter increase in net loss to higher other expense from Spyce transaction costs. The gain arrived after closing, so transaction expenses and the disposal gain appear in different reporting periods.

Cash, shares and continued access to the technology#

The January 5 closing filing separates Wonder's payment into $100 million cash and Series C preferred shares with an implied value of $86.4 million. The share valuation used the price paid by cash investors in Wonder's most recent preferred financing.

The stock component is an investment received as consideration, rather than cash available to spend. The combined purchase consideration also differs from the accounting gain, which reflects the disposal's treatment in Sweetgreen's financial statements.

Sweetgreen retained access to Infinite Kitchen through supply, service and licensing agreements. The long-term supply arrangement covers Infinite Kitchen units, future variants and certain later products. It also provides services including commissioning, support and maintenance.

The non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable and royalty-free license permits specified uses of the technology in company-branded facilities, subject to restrictions. Additional manufacturing rights depend on defined trigger events.

Sweetgreen therefore continues as a customer and licensee of the business it sold. The arrangement preserves access to equipment without preserving ownership of the business that develops and supplies it.