Chipotle Mexican Grill sales beat on stable demand from wealthy customers

(Reuters) -Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc topped Wall Street expectations for first-quarter comparable sales on Tuesday, helped by steady demand for its burritos and rice bowls from affluent customers, as well as higher menu prices.

Shares of the company rose nearly 4% in extended trading.

Despite inflation squeezing household budgets, restaurant chains like McDonald’s Corp (NYSE:) and Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:) have managed to post higher sales growth in recent quarters, underscoring American consumers’ appetite for dining out.

Chipotle (NYSE:) has also been able to pass on price increases to its customers – majority of who are higher-income consumers earning more than $100,000 – in contrast to many of its fast-casual competitors.

The restaurant chain’s weekly year-over-year traffic for the first 13 weeks of 2023 consistently outperformed that of its fast-casual restaurant peers, according to data from Placer.ai.

The company said it expects second-quarter and full-year comparable restaurant sales growth in the mid to high-single digit range. Analysts were expecting a growth of 5.7% and 5.9%, respectively.

Comparable sales at the California-based chain jumped about 11% in the first quarter, while analysts on average expected an 8.6% rise, according to Refinitiv data.