Rachel Warren

Yeah, I do think that there's a comeback here, so as not to bury the lead.

I think a lot of this, what we're seeing with Chipotle, and I will note, also across the quick service restaurant space, a lot of it is a function of some of the dynamics we're seeing in the macro environment.

And you're right, you know, Chipotle, they're heavily investing in menu innovation.

They've found success with a lot of the limited time offerings that they've introduced.

And they've said, you know, guests who purchase those limited time offerings tend to return more frequently.

But I think it's important to take a little bit more of a holistic look at what's going on with Chipotle specifically.

So, interesting fact, about 40% of Chipotle sales come from households that are earning under $100,000 annually.

This is a really core demographic for them.

And this is also a demographic that's facing inflationary pressures, economic pressures.

We're seeing that cohort tend to reduce dining frequency.

They're choosing to eat at home more often instead of switching to competitors.

And so this is where you've seen a real decline in customer traffic for Chipotle throughout 2025.

And Chipotle has intentionally held back on fully offsetting inflation with price increases.

So that's also where we're seeing margin compression compared to some of their peers who maybe have raised their prices more aggressively.

But digital sales are a really powerful growth tailwind for Chipotle, right?

Their long-term growth strategy remains intact.

They're planning to open anywhere between 350 and 370 new restaurants in 2026 alone.

And they're also really focusing on their international expansion in Europe, in the Middle East, across Asia.

They are accelerating that move through various partnerships they have.

I think that at its core, this is still a business that is also very strong financially.