Katherine Fogertey

Chief Financial Officer, Shake Shack

Search every verified Katherine Fogertey interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Katherine Fogertey, Chief Financial Officer of Shake Shack, discussed the company's financial performance and strategy during recent earnings calls and media appearances. On the Q4 2024 earnings call in February 2025, she noted that the company generated a record $36 million in free cash flow and ended the year with $320 million in cash and cash equivalents. She guided for adjusted EBITDA of $205 to $215 million and restaurant-level margins of approximately 22% for the year. In a March 2025 Bloomberg interview, Fogertey stated that Shake Shack has navigated inflationary pressures by raising wages, introducing tips, and managing impacts from the California Fast Food Wage Act, and she described the company's consumer as "more middle-income to higher-income." She also outlined growth plans, including adding 45 domestic company-operated locations and 35 to 40 licensed Shacks in the year. In earlier calls, Fogertey addressed margin improvement and cost pressures. On the Q1 2023 earnings call, she reported that the company grew revenue by 25% year-over-year and expanded restaurant margin by 310 basis points to 18.3%, while noting high single-digit food and paper inflation and uncertainty around beef costs. She stated the company planned to take a 2% menu price increase in the second quarter. On the Q4 2022 call, she reported total revenue of $238.5 million, up 17.4% year-over-year, and outlined a four-point plan for sustained profitability, including building back sales, labor efficiencies, improving off-premise profitability, and strategic pricing. She also noted that 36% of Shack sales came from digital channels and that kiosks were the highest-margin channel.