Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

For the period ending March 31, 2023

April 25, 2023 4:30 p.m. ET

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Hello, and welcome to the Chipotle Mexican Grill First Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note, this event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Head of Investor Relations and Strategy, Cindy Olsen. Cindy, please go ahead.

Cindy Olsen - Head of IR and Strategy

Hello, everyone, and welcome to our first quarter fiscal 2023 call -- earnings call. By now, you should have access to our earnings press release. If not, it may be found on our Investor Relations website at ir.chipotle.com.

I will begin by reminding you that certain statements and projections made in this presentation about our future business and financial results constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current business and market expectations, and our actual results could differ materially from those projections in the forward-looking statements. Please see the risk factors contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our Form 10-Q for a discussion of risks that may cause our actual results to vary from these forward-looking statements.

Our discussion today will include non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation to GAAP measures can be found via the link included on the presentation page within the Investor Relations section of our website.

We will start today's call with prepared remarks from Brian Niccol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Jack Hartung, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, after which we will take your questions. Our entire Executive leadership team is available during the Q&A session.

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Brian.

Brian Niccol - Chairman and CEO

Thanks, Cindy, and good afternoon, everyone. 2023 is off to a great start with first quarter sales and margins ahead of our expectations. For the quarter, sales grew 17% to reach $2.4 billion, driven by a 10.9% comp. In-store sales grew by 23% over last year. Digital sales represented 39% of sales. Restaurant level margin was 25.6%, an increase of 490 basis points year-over-year. Diluted EPS was $10.50, representing 84% growth over last year. And we opened 41 new restaurants, including 34 Chipotlanes.

These results demonstrate that our focus on running great restaurants with exceptional food and exceptional people is driving performance. Additionally, we benefited from exciting new menu innovations including Fajita Quesadilla and Chicken al Pastor. Transaction trends were positive throughout the quarter and the strength has continued into April.