The US consumer environment remains strong thanks to a solid labor market, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung said.
(Bloomberg) — The US consumer environment remains strong thanks to a solid labor market, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung said.
A combination of plentiful jobs and rising wages is helping keep consumption afloat, Hartung said in an interview Thursday. That’s good news for restaurants such as Chipotle, which said traffic to its locations grew in the second quarter.
“This is a great restaurant environment, where people have jobs, they have the ability and the desire to spend on experiences like dining out, and inflation is manageable,” the finance chief said.
Diners in households making less than $75,000, who account for less than half of the chain’s customers, are spending at almost the same clip as high-income consumers, Hartung said.
Newport Beach, California-based Chipotle on Wednesday posted second-quarter results that trailed expectations by some metrics and said same-store sales growth would moderate in the third quarter. Hartung said Thursday that comparisons to a price increase in August of last year explained much of the projected slowdown.
The burrito maker’s shares fell as much as 9.6% on Thursday, the most since March 2020.
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