Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. fell 13% to $34.40 apiece in after-hours trading following its third quarter results.
The restaurant chain’s total revenue missed analysts’ expectations: the Newport Beach company reported Q3 revenue of $3 billion, up 7.5% compared to a year ago, while analysts forecasted 8.2% growth to $3.02 billion.
Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) also reported comparable restaurant sales, also known as same-store sales, increased 0.3%. This marks a sequential improvement from the company’s 4% decline in second-quarter sales.
“While we continue to see persistent macroeconomic pressures, our extraordinary value proposition and brand strength remain strong,” Chief Executive Scott Boatwright said in a statement. “Our best-in-class teams are focused on doubling down on restaurant execution, sharpening our marketing message, accelerating menu innovation and creating more engaging digital experiences to ensure we emerge stronger and get back to driving positive transaction growth.”
Chipotle is Orange County’s second largest restaurant chain with local headquarters and the region’s second most valuable publicly traded company with a $53 billion market cap.
