What happened
Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG 0.53%) surged on Wednesday after the restaurant chain generated stronger-than-expected profits in the second quarter.
As of 1:30 p.m. ET, Chipotle's stock price was up 13%.
So what
Chipotle's revenue jumped 17% year over year to $2.2 billion, propelled by new restaurant openings and higher sales at its previously existing locations. Chipotle's comparable-store sales grew by 10.1%, as more people returned to its restaurants. The company also opened 42 new locations during the quarter, bringing its store count to over 3,0000.
Like many other businesses, Chipotle is struggling with widespread inflation, so the popular burrito chain passed on its higher expenses to its customers via menu price hikes. Those increases, combined with its traffic growth, lifted Chipotle's restaurant-level and companywide operating margins to 25.2% and 15.3%, respectively, up from 24.5% and 13% in the prior-year period.
In all, Chipotle boosted its adjusted earnings per share by 24.7% to $9.30. That topped Wall Street's consensus estimate for adjusted earnings per share of $9.04.
"We are pleased with our second quarter performance during a period of inflation and consumer uncertainty," CEO Brian Niccol said in the press release. "Our pricing power and value proposition remain strong as our culinary and food with integrity commitment continues to be a key point of differentiation."
Now what
Chipotle management plans to raise prices again in August, and it expects this will help boost its comparable-store sales by a percentage in the mid to high single-digit range in the third quarter. The company also said it remains on track to open a total of 235 to 250 new restaurants in 2022.
