Fulfilling your craving for burritos or taco bowls will be getting easier in years to come, but it will take some times.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) said Tuesday it’s raising its forecast for the number of restaurants it can operate in North America by 1,000 to 7,000.
The company made the comments in its latest earnings release, saying it’s seeing big success from restaurants with drive-thrus -- Chipotlanes in company parlance.
The company’s shares rose in after-hours trading Monday after it topped analyst estimates thanks to strength in its digital ordering business, price-hikes to offset higher food costs and its growing drive-thru business.
Chipotle said total revenue increased 22% to $2 billion for the period. Digital sales rose 3.8%, accounting for 41.6% of sales.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose to $5.58. Wall Street analysts had been forecasting adjusted diluted earnings of $5.25 a share.
"We remain confident in the long-term opportunity to more than double the number of Chipotle restaurants in North America. We believe our strong financial position will allow us to build a robust new unit development pipeline,” Chipotle said in the earnings release.
The company operates just under 3,000 restaurants according to SEC filings. It opened 215 over the past year. At that rate it would take the company until 2040 to build out its North American footprint. However, openings increased markedly during the fourth quarter to 78 for the three-month period. At that rate, it would take the company a mere 13 years to meet its location target.
In any case, the company is leaning into the concept of Chipotlanes, which make it easier for customers to pick up their online orders. While only about 12% of its current locations have them, 86% of new restaurant openings in the fourth quarter featured the drive-thrus.
Chipotle shares rose $99.65, or 6.82% to $1,560 in after-hours trading Tuesday
