A person wearing a protective mask and gloves leaves the Chipotle Restaurant in San Francisco, California on April 19, 2021.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Chipotle Mexican Grill maintains recent gains in digital sales as its online orders exceeded those placed in its restaurants for the first time.
First-quarter earnings posted exceeded Wall Street earnings estimates. Next quarter, Chipotle will face the weakest quarter of last year. This means that sales growth in the same store is expected to increase by up to 30%.
The company’s shares rose less than 1% in expanded trading.
This is what the company reported compared to what Wall Street expected, according to a survey by Refinitiv analysts:
- Earnings per share: $ 5.36 adjusted compared to $ 4.89 expected
- Revenue: $ 1.74 billion vs. $ 1.74 billion projected
Chipotle reported first-quarter net profit of $ 127.1 million, or $ 4.45 per share, compared to $ 76.4 million or $ 2.70 per share a year earlier. Costs related to corporate restructuring, impairment and closing of restaurant assets and Covid-19 reduced profits by 91 cents per share.
Excluding these items, the company earned $ 5.36 per share, surpassing the $ 4.89 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales rose 23.4% to $ 1.74 million, meeting expectations. In-store sales increased 17.2% in the quarter, driven by new menu items and online orders. During the quarter, Chipotle released cauliflower rice, which costs an additional $ 2, and quesadillas, a digital exclusive. The launch of quesadillas in March may have been a factor in the growth of Chipotle’s digital sales. Online orders doubled during the quarter and accounted for 50.1% of total sales.
The company also credited government stimulus controls, which put more money into spending in the hands of consumers.
The company opened 40 new offices in the quarter, more than half of which included traffic lanes to pick up digital orders. He closed five restaurants.
The company declined to offer a sales growth outlook for the rest of 2021, citing the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. It expects to open about 200 new locations this year, assuming there are no significant delays related to the crisis.