Chipotle Mexican BBQ Quarterly profit and revenue reported on Wednesday beat analysts’ expectations due to increased restaurant traffic.
The stock rose 4% in after-hours trading.
The company’s report compared with Wall Street expectations, according to a survey of analysts by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG):
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $13.37, expected $11.68
- income: $2.7 billion vs. $2.68 billion expected
Chipotle reported first-quarter net income of $359.3 million, or $13.01 a share, up from $291.6 million, or $10.50 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding a 36-cent loss from an increase in required reserves, the burrito chain earned $13.37 a share.
net sales grew 14.1% to $2.7 billion.
The company’s same-store sales grew 7%, higher than StreetAccount’s forecast of 5.2%. Chipotle said customer traffic increased 5.4% from the same period last year, while average check size increased only 1.6%.
In February, Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung told analysts that “unusually cold weather” hurt sales in January. But demand rebounded for the rest of the season, offsetting the first month’s slump.
Chipotle has become the rare restaurant chain to see growing transactions despite rising menu prices. The company raised prices again in October, citing inflation. Others in the restaurant industry are turning to limited-time deals and deals to attract customers, especially those with lower incomes.
CEO Brian Niccol said the company saw traffic growth across income groups during the quarter. He praised the chain’s value perception among diners. Previously, senior executives have emphasized that most customers come from high-income groups.
Nicol said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” that Chipotle raised prices in California by about 7% earlier this month to offset the impact of the state’s minimum wage increase for fast-food workers, but the company did not raise prices further. price plan.
Chipotle is also working to make burritos and bowls faster, improving an industry metric called throughput. Nicholl said throughput in the first quarter was the highest it has been in four years.
The chain added 47 new locations in the first quarter, one step closer to its long-term goal of doubling its total number of restaurants to 7,000 locations.
Chipotle now expects full-year same-store sales to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage, up from its previous range of mid-single-digit growth. The company reiterated its forecast to open 285 to 315 new locations in 2024.
In March, Chipotle’s board of directors approved a 50-for-1 stock split, one of the largest stock splits in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. The company is seeking shareholder approval at its annual general meeting on June 6.
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