Here, I want to revisit two shares on my watchlist that have trodden very different paths this year. One has lost half its value, while the other has surged by over 80%.

Which one looks more attractive to me right now? Let’s find out.

Robotic kitchens

Let’s start with the underperformer, which is Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG). The stock is down 53% year to date and around 72% since its 2021 IPO.

Sweetgreen is a salad restaurant chain, with over 251 locations across the US. It sources the best quality ingredients from farmers and local suppliers, prioritising organic produce where possible.

One thing I find interesting about the company is its Infinite Kitchens, which are restaurants where machines assemble salad bowls. Sweetgreen says these can produce 500 bowls per hour, about 50% faster than traditional human preparation.

However, the stock plunged 31% in May after the firm released its Q1 earnings. In this, it reported slowing sales growth (a 5.4% rise to $166.3m). Same-store sales growth declined 3.1% year on year.

For context, quarterly revenue and same-store sales growth was 26% and 5%, respectively, the year before.

The problem here is that Sweetgreen isn’t yet profitable (it lost $25m in Q1), so this sudden slowdown has spooked investors.

In some ways, slowing sales isn’t that unexpected. There’s a lot of economic uncertainty and many consumers are eating out less due to budget constraints. Things might get worse, especially if food inflation takes hold.

Still, management is aiming for 40 net new restaurant openings this year, with 20 featuring an Infinite Kitchen.

High as a kite 

In contrast to Sweetgreen, Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) shares have skyrocketed 84% year to date, and 1,150% since April 2024!

Two developments have been pushing the rocket company’s shares higher. First, there’s growing excitement about its Neutron rocket, which is due for its debut launch later this year. This is a medium‑lift, partially reusable rocket that may compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9.

Second, investors are betting that Rocket Lab will benefit from the spectacular fallout between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Trump. It could be a direct beneficiary if SpaceX misses out on new contract awards.

My Foolish takeaway

Stepping back, there’s a lot of daft valuations around right now, which reminds me of 2021. With a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 51, Rocket Lab stock is clearly partaking in this speculation.

It could fall back to earth spectacularly if the Neutron launch fails or the global economy enters a recession. If so, I’ll take another look.

Meanwhile, Sweetgreen stock has fallen from $44 in November to $14 today, giving it a P/S multiple of 2.4. I think it could be a big winner from its current level, assuming the disruptive company can kickstart growth and use its robotic automation to become profitable.

On this basis, it might be worth considering. But with declining comparable sales, I personally need a bit more convincing before I add it to my portfolio. Sweetgreen reports Q2 on 7 August.

The post Up 84% and down 53%! 2 innovative growth stocks on my ISA watchlist appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

However, there are loads of smaller growth stocks that are largely flying under the radar. Here are two that I think are worth considering.

Sweetgreen

First up is Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG), which is a restaurant chain that serves salads. The stock’s up 111% since the start of 2024, but has fallen 46% from a high reached back in November.

Last year, Sweetgreen’s revenue increased 16% to $676.8m, with comparable store sales up 6%. It opened 25 net new restaurants, bringing the total to over 230 locations across America.

CEO Jonathan Neman said: “In 2025, we’re rolling out a new and improved loyalty program, introducing exciting new menu items, and strategically investing more in marketing to bring more people into our restaurants. By staying focused on delivering an exceptional experience, we’re setting Sweetgreen up to lead — and redefine — fast food for the future.”

One thing worth highlighting is the firm’s Infinite Kitchen automation technology. This robotic assembly line replaces human workers for key tasks like portioning, mixing, and plating ingredients. It produces salads 50% faster than humans can!

The main risk here is that the company isn’t yet profitable and reported a net loss of $90.4m last year. So that’s worth bearing in mind, as is the ever-present possibility of a food safety incident.

Looking ahead though, the company’s healthy meals and local sourcing of ingredients plays into a wellness trend that’s likely to grow stronger over the next decade and beyond.

Last year, Sweetgreen’s average sales per location were around $2.9m, in line with industry giants like Chipotle Mexican Grill. I think its investments in automation could give it a competitive advantage.

The stock’s trading at a reasonable 4x sales. With a small market-cap of $2.7bn and an untapped international opportunity, I think Sweetgreen has all the ingredients (pun intended) to be winning restaurant stock.

Toast

Sticking with the food theme, I’m going to highlight Toast (NYSE: TOST). I like to think of the company as the Shopify of restaurants, as it provides an all-in-one digital platform for managing orders, payments and inventory.

The stock’s up 36% over the past year, but remains around 39% below its 2021 IPO price.

In 2024, Toast’s revenue grew 28% to nearly $5bn and it recorded its first full year of profitability — a net profit of $19m versus a net loss of $246m in 2023. Its recurring gross profit stream jumped by 34%.

Meanwhile, it added a record 28,000 net locations, bringing the year-end total to around 134,000. And Toast is now partnered with over half of the Michelin-rated restaurants in the US!

One risk here is that the firm faces a fair bit of competition, especially on the hardware side from payments firms like Block-owned Square. The stock’s forward price-to-earnings ratio also looks quite high at 40.

Looking ahead to the next few years though, analysts have revenue and earnings growing by double digits. And Toast is confident that over the next decade it can serve “many multiples” of its current locations.

The post 2 under-the-radar growth stocks to consider for a Stocks and Shares ISA appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.