Are You Expecting This from Chipotle Mexican Grill? (CMG)

Are You Expecting This from Chipotle Mexican Grill?

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Feb. 5. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Chipotle Mexican Grill's revenues will increase 17.1% and EPS will expand 8.3%.

The average estimate for revenue is $698.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.96.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Chipotle Mexican Grill booked revenue of $700.5 million. GAAP reported sales were 18% higher than the prior-year quarter's $591.9 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, EPS came in at $2.27. GAAP EPS of $2.27 for Q3 were 19% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.90 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 37.9%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 17.0%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.3%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $2.73 billion. The average EPS estimate is $8.77.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,760 members out of 3,200 rating the stock outperform, and 440 members rating it underperform. Among 1,009 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 926 give Chipotle Mexican Grill a green thumbs-up, and 83 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Chipotle Mexican Grill is hold, with an average price target of $388.00.

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Seth Jayson owned shares of the following at the time of publication: Chipotle Mexican Grill. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool owns shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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