Chipotle Sees Same-Store Sales Drop, but CEO Says Menu Price Increases Unlikely in the Near Future

Chipotle Mexican Grill has been making a concerted effort to keep up with the competition in a turbulent U.S. fast-casual market, but it fell short on its revenue expectations and reported a decline in same-store sales last quarter, per CNBC.

On April 23, Chipotle delivered the bad news to investors. Revenue failed to beat Wall Street expectations of $2.95 billion, coming in at $2.88 billion, while same-store sales dipped by 0.4%. Restaurant transactions fell by 2.9%, although this figure was slightly mitigated by the fact that the average check increased in size by 1.9%.

A few silver linings were present, however: Net sales trended upward by 6.4%, and earnings per share (EPS) showed a modest beat, coming in at $0.29 versus $0.28 expected.

During a company conference call, CEO Scott Boatwright told analysts that much of the recent slowdown could be attributed to a punishing macroeconomic environment leading to an increasingly cash-strapped and cost-conscious U.S. consumer.

“We could see this in our visitation study, where saving money because of concerns around the economy was the overwhelming reason consumers were reducing the frequency of restaurant visits,” Boatwright said, further suggesting that sluggish traffic had extended into April.

In a separate statement, however, Boatwright indicated that a righting of the brand’s ship was predicted to close out 2025.

“I am confident that we have a strong plan to return to positive transaction comps by the second half of the year, and during these uncertain times, we will continue to invest in the things that make Chipotle a special brand — our people, culinary, value proposition, innovation and growth,” Boatwright stated.

Chipotle Unlikely To Increase Menu Prices This Year, Despite Tariffs and Persistent Inflation

And despite the dual headwinds posed by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the continuing pressure exerted by persistent inflation, Chipotle is unlikely to enact any menu price hikes anytime soon.

As Yahoo! Finance reported, in an interview with the outlet, Boatwright underscored the notion that the fast-casual brand would not be planning to raise prices “anytime in the near future,” largely due to the current state of the consumer.

The CEO went on to explain that Chipotle would have to take a full inventory of the potential effects of Trump’s tariffs on its business model — and whether these tariff costs may simply be transitory, or rather permanent. In the latter case, however, price increases could materialize.

“We have pricing power at Chipotle that I believe is unparalleled, and we view that pricing power as an asset … we can choose to spend that asset when we want to. Given the strength of our balance sheet and the strength of our economic model, that gives us the opportunity to be patient,” Boatwright said.