Bear of the Day: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)

Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG, together with its subsidiaries, operates quick-casual and fresh Mexican food restaurant chains. The company offers a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads.

EPS revisions are bearish across the board, landing the stock into an unfavorable Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Chipotle Shares Struggle

CMG shares have had a somewhat rough showing in 2026 so far, down 6%. Weak performance and sentiment become much more visible when extending the timeframe to cover the past year, with shares down more than 30% compared to the S&P 500’s impressive 25% gain.

Sales growth has been weak across 2025 and most of 2024 relative to what we saw across 2022 to 2023, as shown below. Please note that the chart illustrates the YoY % change in sales, not actual sales figures.

Notably, comparable restaurant sales fell 2.5% year-over-year throughout its latest reported period, though overall sales were up 4.9%. While sales growth remained in positive territory, it likely reflected a boost from newly opened locations, of which CMG opened 132 throughout the above-mentioned period. Comparable restaurant sales growth has remained in negative territory for several recent periods now, reflecting that existing locations have continued to face weaker traffic and overall performance.

Below is a chart illustrating CMG’s comparable restaurant sales growth rates on a quarterly basis.

Restaurant operating margins were also reported at 23.4%, which compares to a 24.8% print in the same period last year. The profitability crunch, paired with weak sales growth in existing locations, has remained a thorn in the side of the company, helping explain the weak share performance.

Bottom Line

Negative earnings estimate revisions paint a challenging picture for the company’s shares in the near term.

Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), indicating that analysts have taken a bearish stance on the company’s earnings outlook.

For those seeking strong stocks, the best idea would be to focus on stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) – these stocks sport a notably stronger earnings outlook paired with the potential to deliver explosive gains in the near term.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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