Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Posts Strong Earnings, But Stock Falls

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The stock price of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) is falling despite reporting strong financial performance for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The shares of the company were down more than 2% to $537.70 per share at the time of this writing around 2:48 PM in New York.

Chipotle financial results

During the first three months that ended March 31, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) generated a net income of $83.1 million, an increase of 8.5% and $2.64 diluted earnings per share, up by 7.8%.

According to the company, its revenue increased by 24.4% to $904.2 million. Its comparable restaurant sales rose 13.4% due to increased customer traffic. Its restaurant operating margin dropped 40 basis points to 25.9%.

Analysts at Thomson Financial Network estimated that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) will be able to deliver $2.86 earnings per share and $873.8 million revenue. Based on the estimate, the company’s $2.64 EPS missed while its $904.2 million revenue was higher.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) opened 44 new restaurants during the quarter.

Defining characteristic

In a statement, Chipotle’s Chairman and co-CEO Steve Ells was pleased with the financial performance of the company, noting that more people are choosing to visit its restaurants.

According to him, “Our food culture has always been a defining characteristic of Chipotle and continues to set us apart from other restaurants. We are confident that our special food culture will continue to attract more customers to visit Chipotle as customers better understand and connect how natural and high quality ingredients that are freshly prepared result in better tasting food.”

Ells added that the unique and compelling people culture of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) is providing a tremendous impact to the growth of its business. He said, It is “one of the key drivers behind our success.”

$100 million Share buyback

The board of directors of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) approved an additional $100 million for shares buyback program. The company still has $77 million from its previous authorization to repurchase shares as of March 31.

Full-year outlook

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) expects to achieve a single-digit comparable sales growth excluding any menu price increase for the full-year 2014, and to open 180 to 195 new restaurants. The company estimated that its full year tax rate will be around 39.1%.

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