Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE: SHAK)
announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2019.  For the fourth quarter, revenue rose 21.9% to USD 151.4 Million.  Sales of the company increased 20.8% to USD 145.8 Million. System-wide sales increased by 31.4% to USD 235 Million. The company had 25 system-wide Shack openings that include 12 domestic Shacks and 13 licensed Shacks.

For the fiscal year 2019, revenue increased 29.4% to USD 594.5 Million while Shack sales rose 29% to USD 574.6 Million.  Licensed revenue rose by 45% to USD 19.9 Million.  In FY 2019, the company had 73 system-wide shack openings where 39 were domestic operated by Shack and 34 were licensed.

Randy Garutti, Chief Executive Officer of Shake Shack, stated, “2019 was another milestone year at Shake Shack. We opened our largest class of Shacks ever, with 73 across the globe, 39 company-operated and 34 licensed. A total of 49 of those new Shacks were here in the United States, and internationally, we unlocked tremendous revenue growth by entering important new markets for the first time, namely Shanghai, Mexico City, Singapore and Manila. These launches were greeted with incredible local reception and fanfare and were a reminder of the global strength and potential of the Shake Shack brand. In addition to this expansion, we invested in our digital infrastructure, both for our back-office operations, and our guest touchpoints. Total revenue increased by almost 30% to $595 million, and system-wide sales by 33% to nearly $900 million, and we delivered adjusted EBITDA growth of 11% to $82 million, while continuing to make strategic investments for the significant opportunities that lie ahead.”

Garutti concluded, “Looking forward, we expect 2020 will be another year of strong unit growth, domestically and internationally, with 40 to 42 new company-operated Shacks and 20 to 25 net new licensed Shacks. Beyond expansion, we believe this year will be defined by our innovation pipeline with focused investments across our digital products. We’re committed to building guest experiences that are more engaging, more convenient and that will provide us with more insights throughout the purchase process. On the menu side, we’re excited about new products making the leap from our innovation test kitchen to Shacks everywhere, through LTOs and core menu additions. Long term, we expect to deliver double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth over the coming years as we continue to grow top line sales, as well as ultimately delivering leverage across various cost line items over time. We recognize this level of growth and investment, at times, can have a near-term impact on same-Shack sales and other aspects of our financial performance, but we believe the company will ultimately benefit from this strategy over time. We are excited about our future and the significant runway we have ahead, as we quickly approach a billion dollars in total system-wide sales and build a company not just for quarters, but for years to come.”

Garutti concluded, “Looking forward, we expect 2020 will be another year of strong unit growth, domestically and internationally, with 40 to 42 new company-operated Shacks and 20 to 25 net new licensed Shacks. Beyond expansion, we believe this year will be defined by our innovation pipeline with focused investments across our digital products. We’re committed to building guest experiences that are more engaging, more convenient and that will provide us with more insights throughout the purchase process. On the menu side, we’re excited about new products making the leap from our innovation test kitchen to Shacks everywhere, through LTOs and core menu additions. Long term, we expect to deliver double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth over the coming years as we continue to grow top line sales, as well as ultimately delivering leverage across various cost line items over time. We recognize this level of growth and investment, at times, can have a near-term impact on same-Shack sales and other aspects of our financial performance, but we believe the company will ultimately benefit from this strategy over time. We are excited about our future and the significant runway we have ahead, as we quickly approach a billion dollars in total system-wide sales and build a company not just for quarters, but for years to come.”