Chipotle Q3 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Miss, EPS Beat, Store Guidance Update, 'Strong Results Led By Transaction Growth'

Restaurant stock Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) reported third-quarter financial results after the market close Tuesday.

Here are the key highlights.

What Happened: Chipotle reported third-quarter revenue of $2.79 billion, up 13% year-over-year. The total missed a Street consensus estimate of $2.82 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The company reported adjusted earnings of 27 cents per share in the third quarter, beating a Street consensus estimate of 25 cents per share.

Comparable restaurant sales were up 6% in the third quarter. The comparable sales came from a mix of higher transactions and a 2.7% increase in average check, the company said.

Digital sales made up 34% of total food and beverage revenue in the third quarter.

Chipotle's operating margin was 16.9% in the quarter with a restaurant level operating margin of 25.5%.

The company opened 86 new company-operated restaurants in the quarter and one international licensed restaurant. Of the new locations, 73 had a Chipotlane.

"Our focus on exceptional people, food and throughput and the long-awaited return of Smoked Brisket drove another quarter of strong results led by transaction growth," Chipotle interim CEO Scott Boatwright said.

Read Also: McDonald’s Once Owned 90% Of Chipotle: Why It Sold Stake Too Early, Missed $73 Billion Opportunity

What's Next: The company's guidance calls for restaurant sales growth to be in the mid-to-high-single-digit range for the full fiscal year.

Chipotle expects to open 285 to 315 new company-operated restaurants in the full fiscal year, with 80% having a Chipotlane.

In 2025, the company expects to open 315 to 345 new company-operated restaurants, with over 80% having a Chipotlane.

Boatwright highlighted the company's employees as the "backbone of Chipotle."

"We will continue to execute against our five key strategies that help us win today, while we grow our future," Boatwright said. "This will help us to achieve our long-term target of reaching 7,000 restaurants in North America and move towards a more global brand."

CMG Price Action: Chipotle stock is down 6.05% to $56.83 in after-hours trading Tuesday versus a 52-week trading range of $37.49 to $69.26.

Read Next:

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Photo courtesy of Chipotle.