Chipotle slightly beats Q4 revenue estimates, expects FY comparable restaurant sales to be about flat

Overview

• Mexican restaurant chain's Q4 revenue rose 4.9%, slightly beating analyst expectations

• Adjusted EPS for Q4 beat analyst expectations

• Company opened 132 new restaurants, including 97 with Chipotlanes

Outlook

• Chipotle expects full-year comparable restaurant sales to be about flat

• Company plans 350 to 370 new restaurant openings in 2026

• Chipotle anticipates effective tax rate between 24% and 26% before discrete items for 2026

Result Drivers

• NEW RESTAURANT OPENINGS - Revenue growth driven by opening 132 new restaurants, including 97 with Chipotlanes, enhancing guest access and convenience

• MENU PRICE INCREASES - Decrease in food, beverage, and packaging costs attributed to menu price increases and cost efficiencies, despite inflation in beef and chicken

• LABOR COST INCREASE - Labor costs rose due to wage inflation and lower sales volumes, partially offset by menu price increases

Key Details

*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 26 "strong buy" or "buy", 12 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the restaurants & bars peer group is "buy"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc is $45.00, about 16.9% above its February 2 closing price of $38.51

• The stock recently traded at 32 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 26 three months ago

Press Release: ID:nPn6Kl0zBa

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.