Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

For the period ending December 31, 2022

February 7, 2023 4:30 p.m. ET

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good day and welcome to the Chipotle Mexican Grill Fourth Quarter 2022 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 Cindy Olsen, Head of Investor Relations and Strategy. Please go ahead.

Cindy Olsen – Head-IR and Strategy

Hello, everyone, and welcome to our fourth quarter fiscal 2022 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 are based on management's current business and market expectations, and our actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Please see the risk factors contained in our annual report on Form 10-K and in our Form 10-Qs for a discussion of risks that may cause our actual results to vary from these forward-looking statements.

Our discussions 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 will turn the call over to Brian.

Brian Niccol – Chairman and CEO

Thanks, Cindy, and good afternoon, everyone. We delivered another year of strong results in 2022, expanding AUVs and restaurant-level margin despite facing one of the highest inflationary periods on record and an uncertain macro environment. These results demonstrate Chipotle's resiliency driven by our talented teams, delicious food made fresh daily, convenience, customization, and of course, our tremendous value. For the year, sales grew 14% to reach $8.6 billion driven by an 8% comp. Digital sales represented 39% of sales. Restaurant-level margin was 23.9%, an increase of 130 basis points year-over-year. Adjusted diluted EPS was $32.78, representing 29% growth over last year, and we opened 236 new restaurants, including 202 Chipotlanes.