Restaurant company Chipotle Mexican Grill (NASDAQ: CMG) reported fourth-quarter financial results after the market close Tuesday.
Here are the key highlights for investors.
What Happened: Chipotle reported fourth-quarter revenue of $2.52 billion, which was up 15.4% year-over-year. The revenue total beat a Street consensus estimate of $2.49 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
The company reported earnings per share of $10.36, which beat a Street consensus estimate of $9.75.
Chipotle opened 121 new restaurants, with 110 locations featuring a Chipotlane drive-thru.
Comparable restaurant sales were up 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Digital sales represented 36.1% of the total food and beverage sales in the fourth quarter.
For the full fiscal year, revenue totaled $9.9 billion for Chipotle, up 14.3% year-over-year. Comparable restaurant sales were up 7.9% for the full fiscal year.
Chipotle opened 271 new restaurants in the full fiscal year, including 238 with Chipotlanes. Chipotle ended the fourth quarter with 3,437 locations and a total of 811 Chipotlanes.
"2023 was an outstanding year where we delivered strong transaction growth driven by throughput and menu innovation, opened a record number of new restaurants, surpassed $3 million in AUVs and formed our first international partnership," Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said.
The company approved a $200-million share buyback during the fourth quarter. Including the repurchase agreement from the fourth quarter, Chipotle has up to $424.1 million available for repurchases.
What's Next: Chipotle is guiding for fiscal 2024 comparable sales to be in the "mid-single digit range."
The company projects the opening of 285 to 315 new restaurant locations.
"I am more confident than ever that we have the right people and the right strategy to achieve our long-term growth goals of reaching 7,000 restaurants in North America, $4 million in AUVs, expanding our industry leading margins and returns and furthering our purpose of Cultivating a Better World globally," Niccol said.
CMG Price Action: Chipotle shares are up 2.5% to $2,550 in after-hours trading versus a 52-week trading range of $1,470.05 to $2,506.07.