You’re not wrong if you think your latest Chipotle burrito or bowl is pricier than it might have been before. An order at Chipotle (CMG) costs about 10% more than it did one year ago, as the restaurant chain said when reporting earnings on February 8th, and reported by CNN Business.
This means that if, say, a steak burrito was priced at $8 in February 2021, it now costs $8.80 (not including tax). Customers headed to Twitter with the news to express their disappointment in the popular chain’s price increases:
*CHIPOTLE SAYS IT CAN CONTINUE TO RAISE PRICES, IF NECESSARY pic.twitter.com/zQPxfw5oXh
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 8, 2022
Why chipotle prices went up if they don’t even have lids the math not mathing
— 1OF1. (@_vvsjayla) February 10, 2022
Here’s how corporate profiteering works in a nutshell.
Chipotle CEO: We’ve seen “no resistance” from customers on increasing prices.
They will continue to do it to you until you resist them. pic.twitter.com/DWENXp4bXA
— Faiz (@fshakir) February 9, 2022
Chipotle isn’t raising prices because their costs are hurting profits. They are raising prices to have RECORD profits. Predatory capitalism sucks.
— Priscilla Biddle (@plbiddle1) February 10, 2022
Chipotle also reported revenue of $2 billion for October to December 2021, beating their expectations for the last 3 months of the year. In an interview with CNBC, Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said,”We’re pretty fortunate with the pricing power that we have […] Our brand is really strong.” Niccol noted a chicken burrito is still less than $8 in most US markets.
In light of COVID-19 continuing to spread and there being staff shortages, Chipotle has had to pay workers much more to combat this. In May of 2021, the company increased the pay of its restaurant workers to an average of $15 per hour. In a call with analysts, Niccol commented on this. “We continue to see pressure on wages,” he said. “We want to make sure that we continue to be competitive on that front.”
Regarding price increases, Niccol attributed this to the beef (and its traveling to each restaurant) that Chipotle requires and provides in its many menu options. “Beef and freight and some of these other things that continue to stay elevated, if we don’t see it abate, we’ll have to take some additional pricing there,” he said.
