Chipotle (CMG) Q3 2025 earnings

Chipotle Mexican Grill on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue that fell short of expectations and cut its same-store sales forecast for the third straight quarter.

Shares of the company plunged 13% in extended trading.

Chipotle is expecting its full-year same-store sales to shrink by a low-single digit percentage in fiscal 2025. That’s a big change from February, when the burrito chain was projecting same-store sales would grow by a low- to mid-single digit percentage.

CEO Scott Boatwright said the company is seeing “consistent macroeconomic pressures.” Traffic fell by 0.8%, the third straight quarter of declines.

After the chain outperformed the broader restaurant industry in 2024, the sluggish consumer environment finally hit its restaurants this year. Chipotle’s customer base skews higher income, so it was insulated from the pullback in spending from low-income consumers that fast-food chains were reporting last year.

But now Chipotle is seeing consumers across all income cohorts visit less frequently. Consumers who make less than $100,000, who account for roughly 40% of the company’s customer base, have further pulled back their spending, Boatwright said. He added that the group is dining out less often due to concerns about the economy and inflation.

Customers between the ages of 25 and 35 years old are particularly challenged, he said on the company’s earnings call.

“We tend to skew younger and slightly over-indexed to this group relative to the broader restaurant industry,” Boatwright said.

He cited headwinds like unemployment, increased student loan repayments and slower real wage growth accounting for inflation, which are hurting that particular group of consumers.

“We’re not losing that customer. They’re just coming less often,” Boatwright said.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 29 cents adjusted, in line with expectations
• Revenue: $3 billion vs. $3.03 billion expected

Shares of the restaurant chain fell about 5% in extended trading.

Chipotle reported third-quarter net income of $382.1 million, or 29 cents per share, down from $387.4 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding slight adjustments for stock-based compensation grants and other items, the burrito chain still earned 29 cents per share. 

Net sales rose 7.5% to $3 billion, fueled by new restaurants. The company opened 84 company-operated locations and two licensed international stores.

Chipotle’s same-store sales increased 0.3% in a reversal from last quarter’s decline. But the growth in sales at restaurants open at least a year came from a 1.1% bump in average check, as traffic dipped.

“While we did see encouraging results as we accelerated our marketing spend and rolled out carne asada and red chimichurri, our underlying trends remain challenged throughout the quarter and into October,” CFO Adam Rymer said.

Boatwright stood by the chain’s overall value proposition, saying that it would not turn to discounting to bring back customers. However, he acknowledged that consumers are lumping the chain in with other fast-casual competitors, whose average prices are closer to $15 per entree than Chipotle’s roughly $10 price point.

To revive traffic growth, Chipotle is focusing on its in-restaurant execution, marketing, digital experience and menu innovation, according to Boatwright.

Looking to 2026, Chipotle anticipates that it will open 350 to 370 new locations. That target includes 10 to 15 international restaurants operated by partners, as the company aims to expand globally.

Last month, Chipotle announced a joint venture with SPC Group, a Korea-based restaurant operator. It has also signed development deals with operators in the Middle East and Latin America.