Chipotle Q3 sales miss expectations

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Chipotle (CMG) shares slide after the company reported third quarter results, with revenue coming in at $2.79 billion, below the $2.82 billion Wall Street expected, and comparable sales, a key metric for the industry, fell short of expectations. Wedbush Securities managing director of restaurants equity research Nick Setyan joins Market Domination Overtime to break down the earnings results and what it means for the company and its investors.

Setyan tells Yahoo Finance that “expectations got a little ahead of themselves in the near term.” He explains that Chipotle reintroduced brisket to the menu during the quarter, which “did result in acceleration the second half of the quarter,” but tough comps may have weighed on results since the “very popular” carne asada came back this time last year.

The analyst expects that interim CEO Scott Boatwright, who was appointed following Brian Niccol's departure to Starbucks (SBUX), will become the permanent CEO. “I do think that he'll actually end up getting the full-time permanent job. He's been chief operating officer for years now. I mean, he's as much responsible for Chipotle's turnaround, post their own food poisoning crisis, and so I do fully expect him to get the full-time position.”

Setyan says Chipotle’s priorities are unlikely to change if Boatwright’s position is made permanent with the company expected to continue increasing menu innovation and its value perception. The analyst adds that the company’s push to build additional restaurant locations will also continue.

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This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.