By Anuja Bharat Mistry
July 29 (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill raised annual sales forecast and beat second-quarter estimates on Wednesday, as its push to roll out value deals and refresh its menu helped win back diners in a challenging spending environment.
The Newport Beach, California-based burrito chain also announced a new $1.3 billion share repurchase plan approved by its board on June 11. Its shares were up about 3% in extended trading.
Chipotle is seeing rising demand for its burrito bowls
and salads as health-conscious consumers gravitate toward protein-rich, less-processed meals.
It has further fueled traffic with limited-time offerings such as honey chicken and cilantro lime sauce, along with the return of customer-favorite Chicken Al Pastor.
"Positive traffic and average check growth reflect a healthy print for Chipotle, particularly as wallet-stretch consumers remain overly selective when dining out," said Ari Felhandler, analyst with Morningstar.
The burrito chain expects fiscal 2026 comparable restaurant sales growth to be in the low single-digit range, compared with its prior forecast of about flat.
Quarterly comparable restaurant sales were up 2.2%, while analysts estimated a 1.32% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG.
While wary of pushing through aggressive price hikes in a weak consumer environment, Chipotle has leaned on modest menu price increases and sales growth to counter mounting costs, including for packaging and beef — which hit a record-high in May and remains the company's largest commodity expense.
Chipotle posted an adjusted profit of 33 cents per share, ahead of analysts' estimate of 32 cents.
(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
