The Chipotle Mexican Grill logo can be seen in Manhattan, New York.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Chipotle Mexican Grill on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that exceeded analyst expectations, fueled by increased traffic to its restaurants.
The stock rose 4% in extended trading.
Here’s what the company reported, compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Profit per share: $13.37 adjusted versus $11.68 expected
- Gain: $2.7 billion versus $2.68 billion expected
Chipotle reported first-quarter net income of $359.3 million, or $13.01 per share, compared to $291.6 million, or $10.50 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding a 36-cent hit from increases in statutory reserves, the burrito chain earned $13.37 per share.
Net turnover rose 14.1% to $2.7 billion.
The company’s same-store sales rose 7%, surpassing StreetAccount estimates of 5.2%. Chipotle said traffic increased 5.4% from the same period a year ago, while the average check rose just 1.6%.
In February, Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung told analysts that “unusually cold weather” hurt January sales. But demand likely recovered in the remainder of the quarter to offset the slow first month.
Chipotle has become the rare restaurant chain to report rising transactions despite higher menu prices. The company raised prices again in October due to inflation. Others in the restaurant industry have turned to limited-time offers and deals to appeal to customers, especially those with lower incomes.
Earlier this month, Chipotle raised prices in California to offset the state’s higher minimum wage for fast-food workers, but the company has no plans for further increases, CEO Brian Niccol said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
The chain added 47 new locations to its footprint in the first quarter, moving closer to its long-term goal of doubling its total number of restaurants to 7,000 stores.
For the full year, Chipotle now expects same-store sales to grow at a mid- to high-single-digit percentage rate, up from the previous range of mid-single-digit increases. The company reiterated its forecast of 285 to 315 new locations by 2024.
In March, Chipotle’s board approved a 50-1 stock split, one of the largest in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. The company will seek shareholder approval at its annual meeting on June 6. If investors vote yes, the stock will begin trading on June 26 after the split.