Chipotle Mexican Grill celebrated a landmark expansion milestone today with the opening of its 4,000th restaurant in Manhattan, Kansas. The new location features a Chipotlane drive‑thru and a High‑Efficiency Equipment Package that includes a dual‑sided plancha, a three‑pan rice cooker, a high‑capacity fryer, and a produce slicer, all designed to boost throughput and consistency for both staff and guests.
The milestone comes on the heels of Chipotle’s Q3 2025 earnings, which showed total revenue of $3.0 billion—up 7.5% year‑over‑year—but comparable restaurant sales grew only 0.3%, a sharp deceleration from the 6.0% increase seen in Q3 2024. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.29, meeting analyst expectations, while the company cut its full‑year 2025 comparable sales guidance to a low‑single‑digit decline, reflecting persistent macroeconomic pressures and a 0.8% drop in transaction volume.
Revenue growth was largely driven by a modest 1.2% rise in digital sales, which now account for 36.7% of total food and beverage revenue, and a 0.5% increase in in‑store sales. However, the near‑flat comparable sales figure signals that the company’s core traffic is stagnating, especially among lower‑income consumers. The 1.0% decline in restaurant‑level operating margin—from 25.5% in Q3 2024 to 24.5% in Q3 2025—underscores the impact of rising input costs, particularly beef and tariffs, which management has not yet fully offset with price increases.
CEO Scott Boatwright acknowledged the headwinds, stating, “We are facing persistent macroeconomic pressures and a sharp decline in transaction trends, especially among guests with household incomes below $100,000. Our best‑in‑class teams are focused on doubling down on restaurant execution, sharpening our marketing message, accelerating menu innovation, and creating more engaging digital experiences to ensure we emerge stronger and get back to driving positive transaction growth.” Chief Development Officer Stephen Piacentini added that the new Manhattan location “showcases more convenient access points, sustainable design features, and equipment upgrades that elevate the experience for our team members and our guests.”
The market reacted sharply to the earnings report, with the stock falling 13% in extended trading and a 44.5% decline over the past year. Investors cited the lowered comparable sales guidance and the continued decline in customer traffic as the primary drivers of the negative reaction, highlighting concerns about Chipotle’s ability to sustain growth amid inflationary pressures and changing consumer behavior.
Looking ahead, Chipotle plans to open between 315 and 345 new restaurants in 2025 and 350 to 370 in 2026, while also expanding internationally into Mexico, South Korea, and Singapore in 2026. The company’s strategy to deploy Chipotlanes and high‑efficiency equipment across new sites aims to improve operational leverage, but the current trajectory of flat comparable sales and margin compression suggests that the expansion will need to be paired with renewed focus on customer acquisition and cost control to reverse the downward trend in transaction volume.
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