Why Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Caught Fire Today

What:• Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill were rolling

higher once again today, gaining as much as 13% after the burrito chain delivered another blowout earnings report last night.

So what:• Comparable sales jumped by a whopping

17.3%. While a price increase helped boost that figure, the vast majority of the growth came from an uptick in customer traffic as higher prices only boosted sales by 2.5%.

So what:

• The restaurant chain also cruised past analyst estimates. Revenue jumped 28.6% to $1.05 billion and earnings per share came in at $3.50. Analysts had expected sales of $990 million and EPS of just $3.08.

So what:• The strong quarter was especially impressive

considering many retailers have complained of poor traffic recently and the jump in transactions came in spite of a price hike, demonstrating pricing power.

Now what:

• As a result of the strong performance, management lifted its same-store sales guidance for the full year from high-single digits all the way to the mid-teens.

Now what:

• Unit economics should also be stronger in the back half of the year as the full price increase was not in effect until the current quarter. The company raised prices in part to combat rising food costs. Source: Chipotle.

Now what:

• Customer transactions are soaring and margins should improve as prices go up. The company now has more than 1,600 restaurants including 17 abroad as well as seven ShopHouse locations with many more to come. After a flawless quarter, it seems like more good things are ahead for Chipotle.

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