Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday reported mixed quarterly results despite another quarter of higher traffic to its restaurants. 

Shares of the company fell 3% in extended trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 27 cents adjusted vs. 25 cents expected
• Revenue: $2.79 billion vs. $2.82 billion expected

Chipotle reported third-quarter net income of $378.4 million, or 28 cents per share, up from $313.2 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier. 

The company’s food and beverage costs increased during the quarter, in part due to Chipotle’s decision to reemphasize generous portions after social media-fueled backlash over the size of its burrito bowls this summer.

Excluding items, the company earned 27 cents per share.

Net sales climbed 13% to $2.79 billion. 

Same-store sales rose 6%, just shy of StreetAccount estimates of 6.3%. Traffic to restaurants increased 3.3% in the quarter, continuing the chain’s streak of bucking an overall slump in foot traffic across the industry. While many consumers have opted to eat out less, Chipotle has benefited from having a wealthier customer base that is willing to pay more for its burritos and bowls. 

“We’re seeing growth from all income cohorts at present,” interim CEO Scott Boatwright said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Tuesday.

While demand was weaker at the start of the third quarter, Boatwright said sales accelerated throughout the period, particularly as Chipotle reintroduced its smoked brisket. The limited-time menu item is currently the most expensive protein, topping even the chain’s steak and beef barbacoa options.

Boatwright, formerly Chipotle’s chief operating officer, stepped in to lead the company after former CEO Brian Niccol departed in late August to pilot Starbucks‘ turnaround. On the company’s conference call on Tuesday, Boatwright reassured investors that the chain’s strategy is not changing despite the leadership shake-up.

“I have worked alongside our talented executive team to craft and evolve our successful strategy, and we will continue to execute against it,” he said.

Digital sales accounted for 34% of the chain’s quarterly food and beverage revenue.

The company opened 86 new locations during the quarter, 73 of which included a “Chipotlane” dedicated to online order pickup.

Chipotle is also investing in new equipment to improve its preparation and cooking. The company plans to roll out new produce slicers to all restaurants by next summer. Chipotle has also added dual-sided grills to 74 restaurants and will announce early next year its strategy to add the equipment to new and existing restaurants.

For the full year, Chipotle reiterated its outlook that same-store sales will grow by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage. The company also anticipates it will open between 285 and 315 new restaurants this year.

Looking to 2025, Chipotle plans to open between 315 and 345 new locations. More than 80% of those restaurants will include a Chipotlane.

Starbucks has tapped Chipotle alum Tressie Lieberman as its global chief brand officer, a newly created position and the latest executive change under Brian Niccol after he left Chipotle and took over as CEO of the coffee chain last month.

In Niccol’s first week on the job at Starbucks, he outlined his plan for turning around the chain’s slumping sales in the U.S. For the past three quarters, Starbucks has reported same-store sales declines for its home market as its occasional customers buy fewer macchiatos and Refreshers.

Among four top priorities Niccol described in his plan was improving the company’s branding. He wants to remind customers about the chain’s coffee expertise and its special coffee-shop experience, according to his open letter.

“Starbucks is a brand people love. It’s time to tell our story again and reintroduce Starbucks to the world. Tressie is the perfect person to help us do that. She has a proven track record of building strong brands, developing compelling products, creating great customer experiences, and leading breakthrough marketing,” Niccol said in a statement on Friday.

Niccol created a similar global chief brand officer role at Chipotle when he took over there in 2018.

Lieberman will start at Starbucks on Nov 4. and report to Niccol.

Most recently, she served as chief marketing officer for Yahoo. Prior to that role, she was vice president of digital marketing and off-premise at Chipotle between 2018 and 2023. She also overlapped with Niccol when both executives were at Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, which are owned by Yum Brands.

In addition to Lieberman’s hiring, Starbucks said Friday that Dawn Clark, the company’s executive creative director, and Angele Robinson-Gaylord, who leads store development, will now report to Sara Trilling, Starbucks’ president of North America.

The company is also unifying its global communications and corporate affairs departments into a single team.

Previously, Starbucks announced that Michael Conway, the company’s North America CEO, was retiring. Niccol’s predecessor Laxman Narasimhan had appointed Conway to the role last year. After his departure, the company eliminated the position, instead adding Lieberman’s new role. Trilling also now reports directly to Niccol.

In China, Molly Liu is now the sole CEO, after splitting the position with longtime leader of that unit, Belinda Wong, since last year.

Starbucks’ China business has been struggling, hurt by the country’s sluggish economy and the proliferation of local coffee chains that can undercut its prices. Last quarter, the company’s same-store sales slid 14% in China, its second-largest market.

Before his ouster, Narasimhan had said that Starbucks was in the early stages of exploring strategic partnerships for its China business.

Niccol is expected to share more details on his turnaround plans during the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call on Oct. 30.