Fast casual restaurant chain Chipotle reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of 2025. The company’s revenue and same-store sales missed the estimates of Wall Street analysts, causing the company’s stock to slide in the after-hours trading session.
Chipotle had $0.29 in adjusted earnings per share compared to $0.27 in adjusted EPS expected by analysts. Its revenue came at $2.88 billion, marking a 6.4% jump compared to the same period last year but falling short of an estimated $2.95 billion.
Arguably the most worrying thing for the investors was the same-store sales decline in Q1. Chipotle recorded a 0.4% dip while analysts estimated growth of 1.7%. This was the first quarter in which Chipotle’s same-store sales declined since 2020.
According to CEO Scott Boatwright, the poor results can be attributed to more cautious spending of Americans in an uncertain economic environment.
“We could see this in our visitation study, where saving money because of concerns around the economy was the overwhelming reason consumers were reducing the frequency of restaurant visits,” Boatwright said during a conference call with analysts.
Chipotle has now decided to lower its forecasts for 2025, projecting same-store sales growth in the low-single-digit range compared to the previous prediction of the low-to-medium single-digit range. The company still intends to open between 315 and 345 new locations by the end of the year.
Chipotle’s stock jumped by 3.57% on Wednesday to close at $48.76 per share but still remained 18.58% down year-to-date. Following the earnings report, the stock erased most of its gains and dipped by 2%.