NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — Expect increases in the number of drive-thru lanes, called Chipotlanes, and kitchen-area innovations at Chipotle Mexican Grill this year. Executives also will stay updated of any potential tariffs and continue sourcing from several countries.

Chipotle on Feb. 4 gave financial results for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2024, which included several bright spots. Comparable restaurant sales increased by 7.4%. Net income of $1.53 billion, equal to $1.12 per share on the common stock, was up 14% from $1.23 billion, or 89¢ per share, in the previous year, and revenue increased 15% to $11.31 billion from $9.87 billion.

In February, global news has centered around tariff wars between the United States, Mexico, Canada and China.

“We source about 2% of our sales from Mexico, which includes avocados, tomatoes, limes and peppers, and less than 0.5% of our sales from Canada and China,” said Adam Rymer, chief financial officer for Chipotle, in a Feb. 4 earnings call. “If the recently announced tariffs go into full effect, it would have an ongoing impact of about 60 basis points on our cost of sales.”

Scott Boatwright, chief executive officer, said Chipotle also sources from Colombia, Peru and the Dominican Republic. About 50% of the restaurant chain’s avocados come from Mexico, he said.

“So, our supply chain team has done a remarkable job over the last couple of years with vendor diversification and moving some country of origins out of Mexico proper,” he said.

In 2024, Chipotle opened 304 company-owned restaurants, including 257 that had a Chipotlane, which brought the total number of Chipotle restaurants with a Chipotlane to 1,068. Chipotle had 3,276 total restaurants by the end of 2024. Chipotle in 2025 expects to open 315 to 345 new company-owned restaurants, with over 80% having a Chipotlane.

“On average, the Chipotlane takes less than 30 seconds to complete the order-pickup process,” Boatwright said. “The added convenience has been incremental as Chipotlanes continue to generate better revenues, margins and returns than non-Chipotlanes opened at the same time. It can also be seen in the mix of business as Chipotlanes have a larger pickup mix, mostly offset by a lower delivery mix.”

Tariffs involving Mexico could impact how much Chipotle Mexican Grill pays for avocados.

| Photo: ©PIXEL-SHOT – STOCK.ADOBE.COM

To improve the kitchen-area preparation process, Chipotle is rolling out produce slicers in its restaurants.

“Fresh chopped produce in our restaurants each day is key to maintaining our high culinary standards, but it’s also one of the most time-consuming tasks,” Boatwright said. “The slicer improves the experience for our team members by reducing the time to chop produce and improves the culinary by ensuring consistent cut sizes.”

Other preparation innovations include a dual-sided plancha (a tray in an oven), a rice cooker and a dual back fryer.

“As a reminder, the dual-sided plancha cooks the chicken and steak in under half the time it takes on the traditional plancha with the same sear and char and better consistency and juiciness,” Boatwright said. “The new rice cooker eliminates the large rice pots and cooks the rice in the pans that you see on the line, which creates more consistent quality and streamlines the rice cooking process, and the dual back fryer doubles the capacity for frying our chips, resulting in better quality and reducing the time it takes while ensuring consistent availability.

“Based on the initial results, we have decided to roll out all four pieces of equipment to new restaurant openings beginning later this year, and as we gain more data and insights into this initiative, we will determine if and how we roll out more broadly to existing restaurants.”

In Chipotle’s fourth quarter, net income of $332 million, or 24¢ per share, was up 12% from $282 million, or 21¢ per share. Revenue increased 13% to $2.85 billion from $2.52 billion.

In its outlook for fiscal 2025, Chipotle expects full-year comparable restaurant sales growth in low-to-mid-single-digit percentages.

“Comps have been volatile so far in 2025 with weather having a larger impact on our sales than what we experienced last year,” Rymer said. “While we believe underlying transaction trends are healthy and we have a strong plan for the year, we do compare against progressively tougher comps in the first half of the year and therefore our guiding to low-to-mid-single-digit comp for the full year.”