Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG reported second-quarter 2026 results, with earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top line increased year over year, while adjusted earnings remained unchanged from the prior-year quarter.
The company benefited from new restaurant openings, positive comparable restaurant sales and transaction growth. Marketing initiatives, menu innovation, Chipotle Rewards engagement and hospitality investments also supported performance. However, inflation, higher ingredient usage and increased operating expenses pressured margins.
CMG’s Q2 Earnings & Revenue Discussion
For the quarter under review, CMG reported adjusted earnings per share of 33 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 cents by 3.13%. The bottom line remained unchanged from the year-ago quarter.
Quarterly revenues of $3.35 billion surpassed the consensus mark of $3.32 billion by 0.81%. The top line increased 9.3% year over year, driven primarily by new restaurant openings and comparable restaurant sales growth.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Quote
Comparable restaurant sales increased 2.2% against a 4% decline reported in the prior-year quarter. The improvement reflected a 1% increase in transactions and a 1.2% rise in average check.
During the second quarter, digital sales contributed 38.3% to total food and beverage revenues, up from 35.5% in the year-ago period. The Rewards relaunch, Summer of Extras campaign and new in-restaurant enrollment tools supported digital engagement.
CMG’s Q2 Costs, Operating Highlights & Net Income
Food, beverage and packaging costs, as a percentage of revenues, were 29.7%, up from 28.9% in the year-ago quarter. The increase reflected inflation in beef and freight, along with higher protein and produce usage. Menu price increases and lower avocado and dairy costs partly offset these pressures.
Labor costs as a percentage of revenues came in at 25% compared with 24.7% reported in the prior-year quarter. The rise was attributable to wage inflation, performance-based bonuses and additional restaurant labor supporting operational and hospitality initiatives.
Other operating costs represented 14.9% of revenues compared with 14% a year ago. Higher marketing, insurance, maintenance and utility expenses contributed to the increase.
In the second quarter, restaurant-level operating margin came in at 25.2% compared with 27.4% reported in the prior-year quarter. We predicted the metric to be 25%.
Operating margin in the quarter declined 250 basis points year over year to 15.7%. We predicted the metric to be 15.9%.
Adjusted net income totaled $418.9 million compared with $450.4 million in the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for the metric was $418.8 million.
Balance Sheet of Chipotle
As of June 30, 2026, Chipotle had cash and cash equivalents of $228.2 million compared with $350.5 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.
During the quarter, CMG repurchased $630.7 million of stock at an average price of $32.55 per share. The company had $1.7 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorizations at quarter-end.
For the first six months of 2026, net cash provided by operating activities was $1.33 billion compared with $1.12 billion in the year-ago period.
Chipotle’s Restaurant Openings
Strength in new restaurant openings aided the company’s performance in the second quarter. Chipotle opened 100 company-owned restaurants, of which 80 featured a Chipotlane. It also opened one international partner-operated restaurant.
As of June 30, 2026, the company operated 4,186 company-owned restaurants and 15 partner-operated locations. Average restaurant sales were $3.102 million compared with $3.142 million in the prior-year quarter.
Chipotlanes continued to support guest convenience, new restaurant sales, margins and returns. Management remains confident in the company’s ability to operate at least 7,000 restaurants across North America.
CMG’s 2026 Outlook
For 2026, management now expects comparable restaurant sales growth in the low-single-digit range.
The company continues to anticipate 350-370 new restaurant openings, including 10-15 international partner-operated restaurants. Around 80% of new company-owned restaurants are expected to feature a Chipotlane.
Management projects an underlying effective tax rate between 24% and 26% before discrete items.
CMG’s Zacks Rank
Chipotle currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Stocks to Consider
Here are some better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector:
Five Below, Inc. FIVE presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 70.1%, on average. FIVE stock has gained 4.4% in the past six months. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Five Below’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 15.1% and 36.1%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
FIGS, Inc. FIGS has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 212.5%, on average. FIGS stock has declined 4.9% in the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FIGS’ 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 15.5% and 36.8%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.
Dutch Bros Inc. BROS carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 31.6%, on average. BROS stock has risen 15.8% in the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dutch Bros’ 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 27% and 23.7%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.
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Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).