Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG ) (NYSE: CMG-B ) may have reported an impressive quarterly profit (complete with beating analysts' expectations), but it looks like many investors decided to pass on the burritos for now.
First-quarter net income increased 38.9% to $17.3 million, or $0.52 per share. And if you want to go for the extra guacamole, that EPS figure beat analysts' expectations by $0.04 per share. Revenue surged 29.3% to $305.3 million. That truly doesn't sound so bad, given the difficult times for the U.S. consumer. It's also a difficult time for many restaurant companies, considering the margin-busting environment of surging commodities costs.
As my Foolish colleague Rick Munarriz pointed out this morning over Breakfast with the Fool, Chipotle also reported something many in the industry would envy: a 10.2% quarterly comps gain. Looks pretty mouth-watering to me.
I'm not quite sure why investors saw fit to bid down the stock today. If I were to air a complaint, it would be that the company's press release didn't contain much meat, other than its income statement -- otherwise it just offered highlights from its balance sheet and cash flow statement. Of course, somehow I doubt that's why the stock's down nearly 6% at my last check.
Like former parent McDonald's, Chipotle's a fine stock idea during these tough times when some of us would probably rather avoid investing in higher priced sit-down restaurant companies like Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT ) , Cheesecake Factory (Nasdaq: CAKE ) , and P.F. Chang's (Nasdaq: PFCB ) -- until the consumer slowdown storm has passed, at least.
After all, Chipotle's simple, tasty menu items won't break the bank, and the company takes pride in using high-quality, sustainable ingredients, giving it the kind of edge Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI ) has championed with its organic and natural food offerings.
When I took a look at Chipotle's fourth quarter in February, I believed investors who'd had a hankering for the stock were getting a second chance at more reasonable prices. (It was certainly a better-looking opportunity than back in October, when I feared it was overstuffed with optimism.) Indeed, it's still not too late -- Chipotle shares are down 13.5% over the past three months, yet the company's showing great signs of resilience. If you're hungry for some high-quality companies to invest in during these difficult times, Chipotle is a great stock to consider.
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