Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said Thursday that strong online sales, customers returning to its restaurants and the success of new menu items like brisket contributed to a strong quarter that beat expectations.
The fast-food restaurant chain reported third-quarter net income of $204.4 million, or $7.18 a share, compared with $80.2 million, or $2.82 a share, in the same period. Adjusted for costs related to stock compensation, corporate restructuring, restaurant asset impairment and closures and more, earnings were $7.02 a share. Revenue rose to $1.95 billion from $1.6 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $6.32 a share on revenue of $1.94 billion. Chipotle CMG said its same-store sales increased 15.1%, beating analysts expectations of 14%. The Newport Beach, Calif. - based company also said its online sales grew 8.6%, accounting for 42.8% of sales. Chipotle shares climbed as much as 2% in after-hours trading Thursday, after rising 1.1% in the regular session to close at $1843.83. Shares of Chipotle have risen 33% year to date and nearly 42% for the past 52 weeks. The S&P 500 Index SPX is up 21% so far this year and nearly 32% over the past year.