Chipotle’s Stock Is Under Pressure. The Company Says It’s Time to Buy

The latest limited-time offers at Chipotle? Carne asada—and, just maybe, its stock.

Management at burrito giant Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) in a Monday regulatory filing said it was updating the company’s buyback program ahead of schedule, announcing that on Sept. 3 it voted to approve a $500 million repurchase authorization that lifts its authorized amount to three quarters of a billion dollars.

The update might normally have come with Chipotle’s quarterly report. The next one, however, isn’t scheduled to arrive before the end of October—and the shares are beaten-down these days, off some 35% this year through Monday’s close and at levels last seen more than two years ago. A downbeat outlook for same-store sales has weighed on the stock despite management’s optimism of better days ahead.

“Chipotle is announcing the additional authorization early to be in a position to opportunistically repurchase shares using the additional authorization prior to filing” the third quarter’s report, the company said in Monday’s filing.

Chipotle spent roughly $1 billion buying back shares in the first half of 2025, according to a midyear filing, at an average price just above $52. More recently, the stock is closer to $39 even after rising more than 1% in morning trading Tuesday.

Wall Street analysts, for what it’s worth, broadly see current prices as an opportunity. Visible Alpha’s mean price target is $58.65, a more than 50% premium to yesterday’s close.

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