Chipotle Mexican Grill reported mixed third-quarter results on Wednesday, and its restaurant-level operating margin shrank. Shares rose 7% in extended trading.
Net income for the period ended Sept. 30 was $339.9 million, or 27 cents per share, down from $382.1 million, or 29 cents per share, a year earlier. The restaurant-level operating margin fell from 24.5% to 23.3%. Excluding restaurant asset impairment charges and stock-based compensation, the company earned 27 cents per share.
Net sales rose 9.6% to $3.29 billion, driven by new restaurants. Chipotle opened 84 company-owned restaurants and five international locations run by licensees during the quarter. Sales at stores open at least 13 months increased 2.1%, lifted by a 1.3% rise in average check.
The company said that low-income consumers outperformed high-income consumers at its restaurants for the first time this year, according to CEO Scott Boatwright. He said discounts were not the reason, noting that low-income consumers spent the most in September, when promotions were at their lowest point of the quarter.
Chipotle said sales pulled back in late July as diners grew concerned about raw lettuce due to cyclospora. The company said its own supply was never tied to an outbreak. In August, it temporarily pulled jalapenos from Minnesota restaurants after learning its supply was potentially linked to a salmonella outbreak.
Boatwright said "broader consumer and industry headwinds may continue." He also said the company has "high confidence" in its performance for the rest of the fourth quarter. Chief Financial Officer Adam Rymer said the company expects fourth-quarter same-store sales growth of about 2%. The company reiterated its forecast for a low-single-digit percentage increase in same-store sales for the full year.
For 2027, Chipotle projects it will open between 340 and 360 new company-owned locations in the U.S. and Canada, and around 15 to 25 international restaurants.