A big surge in restaurant sales this past quarter pushed Chipotle ( CMG) to a strong beat on the bottom line, but the restaurant chain did come up a bit short on the revenue line.
For the quarter, the company said sales rose a robust 35.9%; digital sales were about 39% of total revenue. Margins were up to 15.3%, higher than prior levels. Operating margins were healthy too, increasing by 70 basis points. The company expects to open up 235-250 new restaurants in 2022 and 10-15 relocations to add a chipotlane, a wildly popular concept for Chipotle fans.
The company sees comparable store sales in the mid- to high-single digits -- that is above estimates. Sales missed, however, 2.21 billion vs. the 2.24 billion estimate, but bottom-line earnings were a solid beat, $94.30 vs. $9.05. Chipotle stated that price increases helped shield the company from rising costs. We like the story here on Chipotle and would not be averse to adding more shares.