A Chipotle restaurant stands in Manhattan, New York Metropolis, on Feb. 6, 2024.
Spencer Platt | Getty Photos
Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday mentioned site visitors to its eating places retains rising, serving to the corporate high analysts’ estimates for its quarterly earnings.
Nonetheless, the burrito chain disillusioned traders with its same-store gross sales forecast for 2025 and commentary about weaker January site visitors. Shares of the corporate fell greater than 4% in prolonged buying and selling.
This is what the corporate reported in contrast with what Wall Avenue was anticipating, primarily based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 25 cents adjusted vs. 24 cents anticipated
- Income: $2.85 billion, assembly expectations
The corporate’s web gross sales climbed 13.1% to $2.85 billion. Similar-store gross sales rose 5.4%, narrowly lacking StreetAccount estimates of 5.7% development.
Transactions rose 4% within the quarter, persevering with the burrito chain’s streak of upper site visitors. For the previous 12 months, Chipotle has outpaced the broader restaurant business, which has seen site visitors hunch as many shoppers choose to cook dinner their meals to economize.
However gross sales softened on the finish of December, which executives attributed to Christmas and New 12 months’s Day falling on Wednesdays.
Nonetheless, gross sales have been “unstable” to this point in 2025, CFO Adam Rymer mentioned on the corporate’s convention name. The climate, together with the wildfires in Los Angeles, has been having a bigger influence on site visitors than it did final 12 months, in keeping with executives.
“Whereas we consider underlying transaction traits are wholesome and now we have a powerful plan for the 12 months, we do evaluate towards progressively more durable comps within the first half of the 12 months and due to this fact are guiding to a low to mid single digit comp for the complete 12 months,” Rymer mentioned.
Wall Avenue was anticipating same-store gross sales development of 5.4% for the complete 12 months, in keeping with StreetAccount estimates.
Chipotle’s forecast would not embrace the influence of any tariffs that could be applied on Canadian and Mexican imports. Executives mentioned that tariffs would increase the corporate’s value of gross sales by 60 foundation factors, or 0.6 proportion factors.
In September, Chipotle introduced again its Smoked Brisket. The corporate prices extra for the limited-time menu merchandise than its different protein choices.
Chipotle reported fourth-quarter web revenue of $331.8 million, or 24 cents per share, up from $282.1 million, or 20 cents per share, a 12 months earlier.
Excluding restaurant impairment prices, authorized prices and different gadgets, Chipotle earned 25 cents per share.
The corporate opened 120 eating places throughout the quarter, together with one worldwide licensed location. After 30 years of focusing totally on its U.S. enterprise, Chipotle is attempting to develop internationally. For instance, final 12 months it entered Kuwait, its first new nation in a decade.
For 2025, Chipotle expects to open between 315 and 345 new places, greater than 80% of which could have a “Chipotlane” for digital orders.
