Stock Analysis

Stock Analysis · Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG)

Overview

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. operates fast-casual restaurants focused on made-to-order Mexican-inspired food, typically served in burritos, bowls, tacos, and salads. The company’s model emphasizes high restaurant throughput (serving many guests quickly), a simplified menu that supports operational consistency, and a brand position built around ingredient quality and food preparation standards.

Chipotle’s revenue is primarily generated from selling food and beverages through company-owned restaurants, with additional contribution from its digital channel (ordering via app/website for pickup or delivery). The business is largely U.S.-based, and it also earns smaller amounts from areas such as gift card breakage and other minor items reported in filings.

In practice, the revenue mix is heavily weighted to restaurant sales, with digital sales acting as a key ordering channel rather than a separate business line. Public filings commonly describe revenue primarily as “restaurant sales,” with smaller “other revenue,” rather than giving a detailed percentage split for categories like dine-in vs. digital.

Over the 2021–2025 period shown above, total revenue rises from about $7.5B (2021) to about $11.9B (2025). Net income also increases materially (about $653M in 2021 to about $1.54B in 2025), although year-to-year profitability can still move with food, wage, and occupancy costs.

Key Figures

Metric	Value	Industry ⓘ
Date	Feb 16, 2026
Context
Sector	Consumer Cyclical
Industry	Restaurants
Market Cap ⓘ	$48.00B
Beta ⓘ	1.00
Fundamental
P/E Ratio ⓘ	31.84	27.62
Profit Margin ⓘ	12.88%	7.98%
Revenue Growth ⓘ	4.90%	7.40%
Debt to Equity ⓘ	347.96%	59.83%
PEG ⓘ	1.91
Free Cash Flow ⓘ	$1.45B

Chipotle’s market capitalization is about $48.0B, and the stock’s beta is about 1.00, which indicates price movement that has been broadly in line with the overall market historically. The P/E ratio is about 31.8 versus an industry median around 27.6, implying the market is valuing Chipotle at a higher earnings multiple than the typical restaurant peer group.

Profitability (net profit margin) is about 12.9%, above the industry median near 8.0%, which suggests stronger conversion of sales into profit than many competitors. Recent year-over-year revenue growth is about 4.9%, below the industry median around 7.4% in the table, which may reflect a normalization from prior faster growth periods or differences in how peers are growing at the moment.

Debt-to-equity is listed around 348% (versus an industry median near 60%), which is a notable outlier and worth understanding in context (including how the company reports equity and lease-related obligations). Free cash flow over the trailing twelve months is about $1.45B, indicating meaningful cash generation after operating needs and capital spending.

Growth (Medium)

The restaurant industry is mature, but fast-casual concepts with strong brand recognition and efficient operations can still grow for long periods through new unit openings, higher same-store sales, and improved restaurant-level economics. Chipotle’s growth approach has historically combined new restaurant development with operational initiatives intended to increase capacity and convenience (including digital ordering and pickup formats).

The chart shows revenue growth that was very strong in 2021 (well above 20% at times), then generally moderated through 2022–2025, reaching mid-single-digit growth by late 2025 (about 4.9% in the latest period). For long-term business building, a key question is whether moderation is temporary (for example, due to comparisons versus unusually strong prior years) or more structural (for example, intensifying competition or consumer spending pressure).

Cash generation has trended upward over the period shown, from roughly $405M (TTM in early 2021) to roughly $1.49B (TTM in early 2025). Rising free cash flow can matter because it can fund new restaurant openings, technology investments, and other operational priorities without depending heavily on external financing.

Potential catalysts for future growth typically include the pace and success of new restaurant openings, sustained traffic and same-store sales performance, and continued improvement in restaurant efficiency (including labor scheduling, ingredient throughput, and digital order management). In addition, menu innovation and pricing power can influence sales, though both can carry trade-offs with customer perception and cost inflation.