Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. reported Monday first-quarter earnings for the first time as an independent company.
The former McDonald's Corp. subsidiary reported earnings well above analysts' estimates, thanks to an unusually mild winter and an increased visibility following its January IPO.
Net income for the first-quarter ended March 31 rose to $8 million, or 26 cents per share, from $2.6 million, or 10 cents per share, a year earlier. Wall Street analysts had expected the company to report earnings of between 10 cents and 16 cents per share, with an average view of 12 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue rose 40% to $187 million, helped by a larger number of stores. Analysts, on average, had been expecting revenue of $174.8 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
McDonald's sold a stake in the burrito and taco chain, which raised $170 million via the offering, but vowed to keep a stake in the company. Last month, McDonald's changed its tune, and announced plans to unload its remaining stake in Chipotle by the end of the year. Chipotle announced that McDonald's will sell 4.1 million Chipotle shares in an upcoming secondary offering.
When Chipotle went public, it priced its shares at $22 a share. Since the offering, the company's shares have nearly tripled in value, which means struggling McDonald's could make a tidy profit on its exit of the burrito business. —Matthew Wurtzel
See story from Forbes
See story from The Street
See story from Reuters
Continue reading below
