Munger Mode rating: 3 out of 5 — Hold. Our own rating from the research report below, on business quality first: moat durability and management, with price separating the top three.
We have spent our lives looking for businesses that a ham sandwich could run, that earn extraordinary returns on the capital they employ, and that can reinvest those earnings at similar rates for decades. Chipotle checks more of those boxes than perhaps any restaurant company we have examined: roughly $3.1 million in sales per box, restaurant-level margins around 25%, cash-on-cash returns on new units north of 50% at maturity, no franchisees to share with, and not a dollar of borrowed money. The company just posted its best comparable sales quarter since 2024 (+2.2%, with transactions positive) and raised full-year guidance despite an industry-wide produce scare. And yet we arrive at a Hold. Two things stay our hand.
Recent filings analysed: 8-K (2026-09-14), 8-K (2026-08-05), 10-Q (2026-07-31), 8-K (2026-07-29).
Stock screener · Superinvestor 13F holdings · Analyst sentiment · Market valuation