Chipotle’s Sales Miss Target As Consumer Spending Slows
Restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has reported mixed first-quarter financial results and issued disappointing forward guidance.
The California-based company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29 U.S., which was above the consensus forecast among analysts that called for $0.28 U.S.
However, revenue in Q1 came in at $2.88 billion U.S., which was below expectations of $2.95 billion U.S. Sales were up 6.4% from a year earlier.
Same-store sales across the restaurant chain declined 0.4% during the quarter, which was well short of the 1.7% growth anticipated on Wall Street. Restaurant transactions declined 2.3%.
Executives at Chipotle Mexican Grill blamed the poor results on a pullback in consumer spending, especially on discretionary items such as dining out.
Looking ahead, management at Chipotle said they don’t expect traffic at the company’s restaurants to grow again until the second half of this year.
For all of 2025, Chipotle now forecasts same-store sales to grow by low single digits. Previously, the company had projected same-store sales growth in the mid-single digit range.
Management reiterated plans to open between 315 and 345 new restaurants by the end of 2025.
Prior to today (April 24), Chipotle Mexican Grill’s stock had declined nearly 20% this year to trade at $48.76 U.S. per share.
