Overview
- Chipotle reported third-quarter results that missed some expectations, with adjusted earnings per share of 27 cents and pressure on operating margin that fell to 13.7 percent.
- Wall Street had expected roughly $0.29 in EPS and about $3.29 billion in revenue with same-store sales near 1.5 percent, and the company projects low single-digit full-year same-store sales growth.
- Management said traffic signs were improving and the firm plans menu and marketing moves, including a limited return of smoked brisket and a roughly 3 percent price increase in the fourth quarter to offset higher beef and freight costs.
- Investors have driven the stock down about 22 percent year-to-date, leaving a market value near $36 billion and prompting reports that Chipotle hired advisers to guard against activist investors or an unwanted takeover attempt.
- Starbucks has publicly denied interest in buying Chipotle, and the results follow a recovery from summer cyclospora concerns and a weak 2025 that had dented diner traffic and sales.