Chipotle Mexican Grill

CMG · NYSE · Consumer Discretionary · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

CMG · Last close · October 26, 2026

$28.41

Chipotle Mexican Grill's revenue rose 5.4% to $11.9 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 16.2%, down from 16.9% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $1.4 billion, down 4.2%. It paid out $2.4 billion in dividends and buybacks, 168% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 2.5%.

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, INC. Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 4, 2026 · 0001058090-26-000009 Updated October 10, 2026

Revenue

$11.9B

5.4%

Operating margin

16.2%

0.7 pts

Net income

$1.5B

0.1%

Free cash flow

$1.4B

4.2%

Return on capital

73.7%

0.6 pts

Market cap

$36.3B

Oct 26 close

P/E

26.1x

On $1.09 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

About these figures. Share counts and per-share figures for earlier years are restated for a stock split (50-for-1), so every year is on today's share basis.

What Chipotle Mexican Grill does

Chipotle owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants, which serve burritos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla), quesadillas, tacos and salads. It says it serves food made without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, and it brands its meats as "Responsibly Raised." As of December 31, 2025, it owned 3,938 restaurants in the United States and 104 international restaurants, and there were 14 international restaurants run by partners. Its first restaurant opened in Denver, Colorado in 1993.

Chipotle's revenue comes from sales by its restaurants, and it reports one segment. Digital orders, placed through its website, its app or third-party delivery services, made up 36.7% of food and beverage revenue in 2025. It is building more Chipotlanes, drive-through lanes where guests pick up digital orders. It competes with fast-casual, quick-service and casual dining restaurants, from locally owned restaurants to national and regional chains, and with food delivery services.

As of December 31, 2025, Chipotle employed 130,301 people worldwide, 127,116 of them in the United States, plus 1,233 contract workers. Its international employees work in Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. It gets supplies through independently owned regional distribution centers, and it buys certain key ingredients from a small number of suppliers.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Food safety problems and food-borne illness that could hurt its brand, cut sales and raise costs.
Failing to hire, train and keep enough qualified restaurant workers, and rising labor costs such as minimum wage increases.
Rising costs of ingredients, or shortages and interruptions in their supply.
Missing its goals for opening new restaurants, or its supply chain not growing fast enough to support them.
Delivery through third-party services may not be profitable, and poor service by them could hurt its reputation.

From Chipotle Mexican Grill's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 4, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new 10-K.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

Revenue and margins

Revenue

US$ billions, fiscal years

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 56.7% a year and net income 59.6% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 10%.

Net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Cash flow

Free cash flow

US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, billions

Valuation

Two ways to value Chipotle Mexican Grill yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Chipotle Mexican Grill's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Chipotle Mexican Grill's cash from operations minus depreciation in fiscal 2025 (free cash flow before spending to grow: capital spending was 1.8 times depreciation, which holds its free cash flow down) of $1.8B, net cash of $1.0B at December 31, 2025 and 1,343 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Chipotle Mexican Grill: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 11.4% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 9% for a business of moderate risk (Restaurants); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

From the filings

Starting free cash flow, US$ millions

Cash from operations minus depreciation in fiscal 2025: a rough guide to cash flow before spending to grow, for a company building heavily.

Net cash, US$ millions

Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at December 31, 2025. Negative means net debt.

Diluted shares, millions

Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2025.

Your assumptions

Start from

Fitted to Chipotle Mexican Grill's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of 5.5% then 4% a year, 2% after year 10, a 10% discount rate. Base: growth of 11.5% then 7% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 9% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 17% then 10% a year, 3% after year 10, a 8% discount rate.

Free cash flow growth, years 1 to 5 (% a year)

Free cash flow growth, years 6 to 10 (% a year)

Growth after year 10 (% a year)Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.

Discount rate (% a year)The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.

Value per share on these assumptions

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $28.41
Value on these assumptions, against the last close: —

Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today: —
Everything after year 10, valued today: —
Plus net cash: —
Share of value from after year 10: —

Projected free cash flow

US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.

Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.

How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) method

Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Chipotle Mexican Grill's earnings per share of $1.09 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 19.4×, the middle of Chipotle Mexican Grill's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (its peers' median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 10%, 9% and 8%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Earnings per share, US$

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to June 30, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.

P/E multiple

P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: Yum China, Darden Restaurants, Restaurant Brands International, Yum! Brands.

Earnings growth in the years ahead (% a year) Starts at Chipotle Mexican Grill's revenue growth over the last 3 years, 11.4% a year, as the base scenario does.

Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.

Apply the multiple to earnings

A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.

Discount rate (% a year) The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.

Value per share today at this multiple

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $28.41
Value at this multiple, against the last close: —
Chipotle Mexican Grill's P/E at the last close: 26.1×

Company	Last close	Earnings per share	P/E today
Chipotle Mexican GrillCMG	$28.41	$1.09	26.1×
Darden RestaurantsDRI	$213.25	$10.23	20.8×
Restaurant Brands InternationalQSR	$74.48	$3.72	20.0×
Yum! BrandsYUM	$149.47	$7.95	18.8×
Yum ChinaYUMC	$45.53	$2.73	16.7×

How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	1,076	899	1,295	1,423	1,049
Debt incl. finance leases	2	0	0	0	0
Net debt (negative means net cash)	−1,075	−899	−1,295	−1,423	−1,049
Net debt to EBITDA	−1.0x	−0.6x	−0.7x	−0.6x	−0.5x
Debt to equity	0.0x	0.0x	0.0x	0.0x	0.0x
Interest coverage	—	—	—	—	—
Current ratio	1.6x	1.3x	1.6x	1.5x	1.2x
Quick ratio	1.5x	1.2x	1.5x	1.5x	1.2x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought Chipotle Mexican Grill shares on the open market, and 3 insiders sold $7.2 million.

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Aug 21, 2026	Matthew R BushController, Pao	Sold	2,675	$35.75	$95,631	Form 4
Feb 24, 2026	Patricia FilikrushelDirector	Sold	3,350	$36.58	$122,543	Form 4
Feb 6, 2026	Curtis E GarnerPres, Chief Strgy & Tech Off	Sold	61,077	$40.01	$2.4 million	Form 4
Dec 12, 2025	Curtis E GarnerPres, Chief Strgy & Tech Off	Sold	67,646	$36.05	$2.4 million	Form 4
Dec 1, 2025	Curtis E GarnerPres, Chief Strgy & Tech Off	Sold	61,892	$34.67	$2.1 million	Form 4

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Piotroski F-score

The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Pass	Fail
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Fail
Current ratio rose	Pass	Fail	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Pass	Pass
Gross margin rose	—	—	—
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Fail	Fail
F-score	7 of 8	5 of 8	4 of 8
Accruals ratio	−7.4%	−6.6%	−6.3%

The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put Chipotle Mexican Grill side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Chipotle Mexican Grill	FY25	5.4%	16.2%	12.1%	73.7%	−0.5x	4
Yum China	FY25	4.4%	10.9%	7.1%	—	—	—	Compare
Darden Restaurants	FY26	9.4%	12.0%	8.5%	24.8%	1.5x	6	Compare
Restaurant Brands International	FY25	12.2%	23.3%	15.4%	9.0%	5.0x	6	Compare
Yum! Brands	FY25	8.8%	31.3%	19.9%	54.8%	4.1x	6	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	3,904	4,476	4,865	5,586	5,985	7,547	8,635	9,872	11,314	11,926
Revenue growth	—	14.7%	8.7%	14.8%	7.1%	26.1%	14.4%	14.3%	14.6%	5.4%
Gross profit	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	35	271	258	444	290	805	1,160	1,558	1,916	1,936
Net income	23	176	177	350	356	653	899	1,229	1,534	1,536
Diluted EPS (US$)	0.02	0.12	0.13	0.25	0.25	0.46	0.64	0.89	1.11	1.14
Diluted shares (millions)	1,488	1,428	1,398	1,415	1,421	1,426	1,403	1,386	1,377	1,343
Cash flow
Cash from operations	355	468	622	722	664	1,282	1,323	1,784	2,105	2,114
Capital expenditure	259	217	287	334	373	442	479	561	594	666
Free cash flow	96	251	334	388	290	840	844	1,223	1,511	1,448
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	837	285	161	191	54	466	830	592	1,002	2,426
Acquisitions	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	64	65	69	91	83	176	98	124	132	120
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	418	509	677	881	952	1,076	899	1,295	1,423	1,049
Debt incl. finance leases	—	—	—	0	2	2	0	0	0	0
Total assets	2,026	2,046	2,266	5,105	5,983	6,653	6,928	8,044	9,204	8,994
Total liabilities	624	681	824	3,422	3,963	4,356	4,560	4,982	5,549	6,164
Shareholders' equity	1,402	1,364	1,441	1,683	2,020	2,297	2,368	3,062	3,656	2,831
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating margin	0.9%	6.0%	5.3%	8.0%	4.8%	10.7%	13.4%	15.8%	16.9%	16.2%
Net margin	0.6%	3.9%	3.6%	6.3%	5.9%	8.7%	10.4%	12.4%	13.6%	12.9%
Free cash flow margin	2.5%	5.6%	6.9%	6.9%	4.8%	11.1%	9.8%	12.4%	13.4%	12.1%
Return on capital	—	—	—	—	31.0%	56.4%	65.6%	73.0%	73.1%	73.7%
Return on equity	1.3%	12.7%	12.6%	22.4%	19.2%	30.2%	38.5%	45.3%	45.7%	47.4%
Return on assets	1.0%	8.7%	8.2%	9.5%	6.4%	10.3%	13.2%	16.4%	17.8%	16.9%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	—	−1.3x	−1.8x	−1.0x	−0.6x	−0.7x	−0.6x	−0.5x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Chipotle Mexican Grill's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Chipotle Mexican Grill.