Overview
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is a restaurant company that owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill locations serving a focused menu of burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company says it strives to “cultivate a better world” by serving responsibly sourced, classically cooked food made with wholesome ingredients and without artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, with its Food with Integrity approach central to the brand. Chipotle’s first restaurant opened in Denver in 1993.[1]
Chipotle derives its revenue from restaurant sales and reports its operations as one segment, with the U.S. as its core market alongside a smaller international presence. As of December 31, 2024, it owned and operated 3,644 restaurants in the United States and 82 international restaurants, plus three licensed international restaurants; its international workforce was located across Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In 2024, Chipotle reported total consolidated revenue of about $11.3 billion and employed 130,504 people worldwide. The company describes its purpose as “Cultivating a Better World” and says its mission is to win today while growing its future.[2][3][4][5] [1][2][3][4][5]
Products & services
Chipotle’s product lineup is built around customizable entrées: burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. Its official menu materials list six primary protein or entrée fillings: chicken (4 oz, 180 cal), described as responsibly raised and marinated in chipotle adobo before grilling; steak (4 oz, 150 cal), also marinated in chipotle adobo and grilled; barbacoa (4 oz, 170 cal), braised beef that is shredded; carnitas (4 oz, 210 cal), braised and shredded pork; sofritas (4 oz, 150 cal), an organic plant-based protein braised with chipotle chilis, roasted poblanos, and spices; and a veggie option (4 oz, 230 cal) that includes fresh guacamole and a choice of beans. Core bases and toppings include cilantro-lime rice (4 oz, 210 cal), black beans and pinto beans (4 oz, 130 cal each), fajita veggies (2 oz, 20 cal), fresh tomato salsa (4 oz, 25 cal), roasted chili-corn salsa (4 oz, 80 cal), tomatillo-green chili salsa (2 oz, 15 cal), tomatillo-red chili salsa (2 oz, 30 cal), sour cream (2 oz, 110 cal), cheese (1 oz, 110 cal), romaine lettuce (1 oz, 5 cal), and queso blanco (2 oz, 120 cal).[1][6]
Beyond entrées, Chipotle offers side items including Chips, Chips & Guacamole, Chips & Queso Blanco, Large Chips & Large Guacamole, and Large Chips & Large Queso Blanco, as well as kid-focused meals such as a Build Your Own meal (340–800 cal) and a Small Cheese Quesadilla meal (510–700 cal), each served with fruit or kid’s chips and a drink. Its beverage assortment includes certified organic Tractor Beverages such as organic lemonades, aguas frescas, and black tea. Service offerings include ordering through the Chipotle website, Chipotle app, and third-party delivery aggregators, with Chipotlanes used as drive-through pickup lanes for digital orders; digital sales accounted for 35.1% of food and beverage revenue in 2024. Chipotle also sells gift cards, which are recorded as unearned revenue until redemption.[7][6][8][9][10] [1][9][10][6][7][8]
Geographic presence
Chipotle Mexican Grill is predominantly a U.S.-based operator. Its principal executive offices are in Newport Beach, California, and as of December 31, 2024 the company operated 3,644 restaurants in the United States, 82 company-operated restaurants internationally, and 3 international licensed restaurants. The company states that its U.S. operations are managed in ten regions, while non-U.S. operations comprise Canada, Europe, and international licensed restaurants.[11][2][12]
The company’s sales base is also concentrated in the United States. In 2024, Chipotle reported one reportable segment, the U.S. segment, which generated $11.112 billion of revenue, or about 98.2% of consolidated revenue; “all other revenue,” representing sales in Canada and Europe plus royalty revenue from international licensed restaurants, was $202.1 million, or about 1.8%. Its asset base shows a similar pattern, with $6.247 billion of long-lived tangible and operating lease assets in the United States versus $142.8 million internationally.[13][14][4][15]
Chipotle’s workforce is likewise centered in the U.S. The company employed 130,504 people worldwide and 1,328 contract workers; 127,820 employees were based in the United States and 2,684 were based internationally across Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Within the U.S., 126,233 employees worked in restaurants and 1,587 worked in restaurant support centers and field leadership.[3] [11][2][12][13][14][4][15][3]
Business segments
Chipotle Mexican Grill reports a single reportable operating segment: the U.S. segment. Management states that this segment comprises all operating segments located in the United States, aggregated into one reportable segment under ASC 280, and that the chief operating decision maker evaluates it primarily using income from operations. This segment’s focus is company-owned U.S. restaurants serving Chipotle’s core menu, including burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads.[13][12][16]
In 2024, the U.S. segment generated $11.11 billion of revenue, or about 98% of consolidated revenue. Within that segment, food and beverage revenue was $11.05 billion and delivery service revenue was $66.3 million. The remaining roughly 2% of consolidated revenue falls outside the reportable segment and is presented as “all other revenue,” which consists of sales from company-owned stores in Canada and Europe plus royalty revenue from international licensed restaurants; management says these other operating segments do not meet the quantitative thresholds to be reported separately.[4][14][13] [13][12][16][4][14]
Company history
Chipotle Mexican Grill was founded in Colorado in 1993 by Steve Ells, and its first restaurant opened in Denver that year.[17][2] McDonald’s began making equity investments in Chipotle in 1998 and became its majority shareholder in 2000, helping support the company’s early expansion.[18]
Chipotle completed its initial public offering in January 2006.[19] Later that year, McDonald’s reduced its stake and then disposed of its remaining interest through an exchange offer in October 2006, leaving Chipotle as a fully independent public company.[19] A major later leadership milestone came in 2018, when Brian Niccol was appointed chief executive officer and Steve Ells moved into the role of executive chairman; Ells then stepped down as executive chairman and director in 2020.[20][21] [17][2][18][19][20][21]
Sources
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