Business

Chipotle Mexican Grill’s first-quarter earnings and revenue topped Wall Street’s estimates.
The company’s restaurant operating margins shrank as it paid more for beef, avocados, paper and labor.
Same-store sales climbed 9% in the quarter, beating StreetAccount estimates of 7.9%.

A customer sits outside of a Chipotle restaurant in Santa Clara, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Chipotle Mexican Grill’s quarterly earnings and revenue topped Wall Street’s estimates, fueled by consumers’ willingness to pay more for their burritos and bowls.
Shares of the company rose 2% in extended trading.

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

Earnings per share: $5.70 adjusted vs. $5.64 expected
Revenue: $2.02 billion vs. $2.01 billion expected

The restaurant chain reported first-quarter net income of $158.3 million, or $5.59 per share, up from $127.1 million, or $4.45 per share, a year earlier. 
Chipotle’s restaurant operating margins shrank as it paid more for beef, avocados, paper and labor. However, menu price hikes and lower delivery costs helped offset those higher costs.
Excluding corporate restructuring costs, certain legal expenses and other items, Chipotle earned $5.70 per share, beating the $5.64 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales rose 16% to $2.02 billion, topping expectations of $2.01 billion. 

Same-store sales, which tracks sales at locations open at least 13 months, climbed 9% in the quarter. Chipotle had warned previously that the omicron variant and winter storms hurt January storms, but the chain topped StreetAccount estimates of 7.9% for its same-store sales growth.
In-person sales jumped by a third compared with the year-ago period, but digital transactions still accounted for 41% of total orders.
Chipotle opened 51 new locations during the quarter, most of which had digital-only drive-thru lanes, or “Chipotlanes.” 
The company didn’t provide an outlook for the full year but said it expects same-store sales growth in the second quarter between 10% to 12%, assuming that current trends persist. Wall Street was anticipating that same-store sales next quarter would increase by 9.3%, according to StreetAccount.
Read the full earnings report here.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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General Motors will begin tying a “significant part” of its long-term executive compensation with the company’s electric vehicle goals, CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday.
Barra said the compensation targets will include volumes of EVs in North America as well as launch timing and quality for such vehicles.
Barra said the new compensation benchmarks are meant to underscore the company’s commitment to EVs.

General Motors Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra speaks during a meeting hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden with private sector CEOs to discuss the Build Back Better agenda at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

DETROIT – General Motors will begin tying a “significant part” of its long-term executive compensation with the company’s electric vehicle goals, CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday.
Starting this year, Barra said the compensation targets will include volumes of EVs in North America as well as launch timing and quality for such vehicles.

GM plans to increase its production of electric vehicles to 2 million in North America and China by 2025, as it moves to exclusively sell EVs by 2035. The company has also said it plans to become the top-selling automaker of EVs, surpassing Tesla, by mid-decade. By then, Barra on Tuesday said GM expects to generate $50 billion from EVs in North America.
“At GM, our compensation has always been driven by the company’s success. And no one should doubt our commitment to lead in EVs or the passion our team has for that mission,” Barra said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call.

The Detroit automaker has faced increased pressure from Wall Street to transition to electric vehicles in the wake of industry leader Tesla’s rise to become the top-valued automaker at a market cap of more than $900 billion.
Barra said the new compensation benchmarks are meant to underscore the company’s commitment to EVs. Further details about the EV compensation targets are expected in the company’s upcoming proxy filing, which Barra said will be filed Friday.
In 2020, Barra’s compensation package was $23.7 million, including a base salary of about $2 million and stock awards of $13 million.

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Amid rising costs and supply chain instability, General Motors reaffirmed its earnings expectations for 2022 despite reporting a lower net profit and margin compared to a year ago.
GM reaffirmed its pretax adjusted earnings forecast of between $13 billion and $15 billion for the year, while raising its net income expectations to between $9.6 billion and $11.2 billion.
GM also reaffirmed plans to produce 25% to 30% more vehicles this year than last year.

A General Motors sign is seen during an event on January 25, 2022 in Lansing, Michigan. – General Motors will create 4,000 new jobs and retaining 1,000, and significantly increasing battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity.
Jeff Kowalsky | AFP | Getty Images

DETROIT – Amid rising costs and supply chain instability, General Motors reaffirmed its earnings expectations for 2022 despite reporting a lower net profit and margin compared to a year ago.
Here’s how GM did compared with what Wall Street expected:

Adjusted EPS: $2.09 vs $1.68, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates
Revenue: $35.98 billion vs $37.01 billion, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates

GM reaffirmed its pretax adjusted earnings forecast of between $13 billion and $15 billion for the year, while raising its net income expectations from between $9.4 billion and $10.8 billion to $9.6 billion and $11.2 billion. Its first quarter profit margin was 8.2%, down from 9.3% a year earlier.
GM also increased its adjusted earnings per share guidance for the year to between $6.50 and $7.50 per share, up from between $6.25 and $7.25 per share. The adjustment is a result of the company increasing its ownership stake in its Cruise autonomous vehicle unit and including the operation’s losses in its consolidated income tax return.

On an unadjusted basis, net income was $2.9 billion for the first quarter compared with $3 billion a year earlier. The automaker reported pretax adjusted earnings of $4 billion for the first quarter, down from $4.4 billion a year earlier.
GM is among the first major automakers to report its first-quarter results. Investors are watching the report closely as a gauge of the auto industry’s ongoing production and supply chain problems.
In addition to inflation and other macroeconomic factors, the global automotive industry has been battling supply chain problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic for more than a year — specifically, supplies of crucial semiconductor chips that are used throughout vehicles.

Despite the problems, GM also reaffirmed plans to produce 25% to 30% more vehicles this year than last year.

While GM, which largely exited Europe several years ago, has not experienced any substantial impacts from the war in Ukraine like other automakers have, it has been battling through recent factory shutdowns in China due to Covid-19 outbreaks.
GM CEO Mary Barra said the company is “cautiously optimistic” regarding its production in China, as the government has labeled auto manufacturing essential operations during lockdowns.
Investors are also eager for any progress or updates on GM’s plans for autonomous and electric vehicles, including a planned $35 billion investment in the technologies through 2025. GM doesn’t typically break out such costs on a quarterly basis, though rival Ford Motor has promised to begin doing so next year.
GM said since unveiling a new electric version of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup in January, the automaker has received about 140,000 reservations for the truck. The vehicle is expected to arrive to the market next year.
Shares of GM are down roughly 34% so far in 2022. Its market cap is about $55 billion, down from more than $90 billion at the beginning of the year.
Correction: General Motors raised its 2022 net income expectations from between $9.4 billion and $10.8 billion to $9.6 billion and $11.2 billion. An earlier version misstated the adjustment.

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The logo of Alphabet Inc’s Google outside the company’s office in Beijing, China, August 8, 2018.
Thomas Peter | Reuters

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell.
Alphabet — Shares tumbled more than 6% in extended trading after Google’s parent company reported an earnings miss. The firm reported earnings of $24.62 per share and revenues of $68.01 billion. Refinitiv analysts were expecting earnings of $25.91 and revenues of $68.11 billion.

Robinhood — Shares of the retail brokerage fell more than 5% in extended trading after Robinhood said it is cutting back on staff, according to a blog post from CEO Vlad Tenev on Tuesday. The company cited “duplicate roles and job functions” after it expanded last year.
Microsoft — Shares dipped 0.4% in extended trading after Microsoft reported earnings that exceeded expectations. The tech giant reported earnings of $2.22 per share, compared to $2.19 earnings per share expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Revenues came in at $49.36 billion, versus the $49.05 billion expected.
Enphase Energy — Shares jumped more than 6% in extended trading after the solar tech company reported quarterly results. Enphase reported earnings of 79 cents per share, compared to analyst expectations of 67 cents per share, according to Refinitiv.
Meta Platforms — Meta’s stock price dropped more than 4% in extended trading following sharp declines for the Nasdaq Composite and Big Tech names during the trading session. The social media company is expected to report quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
Qualcomm — Shares of the semiconductor stock dipped 1.8% after hours, extending losses from the regular trading session. Qualcomm is expected to report quarterly earnings after the bell on Wednesday.
Visa — Shares jumped 4.8% after the payments company posted an earnings beat on the top and bottom lines. Visa expects travel recovery will continue to boost growth.

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CinemaCon kicked off with National Association of Theatre Owners CEO John Fithian declaring the death of day-and-date theatrical and streaming releases.
Throughout the pandemic day-and-date releases became a necessary part of the box office recovery process.
However, as more consumers have returned to movie theaters, the need for these kinds of releases has waned.

President & CEO of NATO John Fithian speaks onstage during CinemaCon 2021 The State of the Industry and MGM/UAR Presentation at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace during CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, on August 24, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
David Becker | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

LAS VEGAS – The death of cinema has been greatly exaggerated — that’s the theme of this year’s CinemaCon.
Instead, it’s the same-day release model for theaters and streaming that has kicked the popcorn bucket, according to National Association of Theatre Owners President and CEO John Fithian.

“I am pleased to announce that simultaneous release is dead as a serious business model, and piracy is what killed it,” Fithian said Tuesday in his annual address at CinemaCon, which his organization hosts. “When a pristine copy of a movie makes its way online and spreads, it has a very damaging impact on our industry.”
Fithian’s remarks came after a lengthy speech by Charles Rivkin, the chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, about the dangers digital piracy has on the theatrical industry and how the MPA is working to combat illegal uploads and downloads of cinematic content.
“On average pre-release piracy can take away as much as 20% of box office revenue — your revenue,” he told theater owners Tuesday. “And with the right efforts to build awareness with consumers, lawmakers, and the media, we can continue to build a culture that recognizes piracy for what it is — theft, pure and simple, and a direct threat to creators, the creative workforce, and the creative community everywhere.”
Throughout the Covid pandemic day-and-date releases became a necessary part of the box office recovery process. However, as more consumers have returned to movie theaters, the need for these kinds of releases has waned. Theater owners are optimistic that crowds will keep coming back, particularly after the lucrative box office performance of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “The Batman” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.”
Studios and industry executives are keenly aware how powerful a dedicated box office window can be for a film and how devastating piracy can be to potential earnings. It’s why Disney scheduled the 2019 release of “Avengers: Endgame” to coincide in China and North America on the same date to ensure that the majority of potential audiences could see the film in theaters before it was pirated online.

While some studios have opted to occasionally implement day-and-date releases, usually movies with low-to-mid-tier budgets or ones that cater to a demographic of moviegoers that has been slow to return, most studios have committed to showing their films for at least 45 days before releasing them to the home market.
In fact, the president of Sony’s Motion Picture Group, Josh Greenstein, touted that “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which was released in December, remained in theaters for 88 days before becoming available to the public through other platforms. “No Way Home” generated around $1.9 billion at the global box office during its run in theaters.
“When analyzing title after title it becomes very clear that spikes in piracy are most drastic when a movie is first available to watch in the home: it doesn’t matter if its available via premium video on demand or subscription video on demand,” said Fithian. “Robust theatrical windows protect against piracy. If a major title that people are clamoring to see in theaters is released too quickly to the home and then pirated, the temptation to stay home and watch pirated films becomes greater for many potential moviegoers.”

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GM has about 140,000 reservations for the Chevrolet Silverado EV, CEO Mary Barra said
The Silverado EV will have at least 400 miles of range when production begins early next year.
Ford began production of its own electric pickup earlier on Tuesday.

2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST

General Motors now has about 140,000 reservations for the upcoming electric version of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup, CEO Mary Barra said during GM’s first-quarter earnings presentation on Tuesday.
GM has promised that the Silverado EV will have at least 400 miles of range, new fast-charging capabilities, and a four-wheel steering system when it goes into production early next year.

GM is positioning the Silverado EV as a direct rival to Ford Motor’s electric F-150 Lightning. Ford had about 200,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning when it stopped taking new orders for the truck in December. Production of the Lightning began earlier Tuesday.   
GM’s shares were up about 0.7% in after-hours trading. The company reported a decline in first quarter net earnings and profit margin Tuesday afternoon.

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Ford CEO Jim Farley said the automaker’s goal is to sell more electric vehicles than industry leader Tesla.
Production of Ford’s electric F-150 Lightning pickup began Tuesday in Michigan.
Ford has already built about 2,000 F-150 Lightnings — not far off rival Rivian’s total first-quarter EV production.

Ford CEO Jim Farley at the company’s Dearborn, Michigan, plant where it’s building the electric F-150 Lightning on April 26, 2022.
CNBC | Michael Wayland

DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor has set its sights on topping Tesla in the race to become the global leader in electric vehicles, CEO Jim Farley said Tuesday.
The goal is the most ambitious yet for the Detroit automaker in its EV push. Farley has previously said Ford plans to be the country’s No. 2 automaker in EV sales, behind Tesla, by mid-decade.

“We plan to challenge Tesla and all comers to become the top EV maker in the world,” Farley said during a production launch event for the electric F-150 Lightning pickup. “That’s something that no one would have believed just two years ago from us. They’re going to look at this truck and believe it.”
Farley didn’t attach a time frame to when the company thought it would overtake Tesla. He said that will come down to product execution over the next four years, adding that Ford has “every intention” of being the top electric pickup maker in the world.
“All we can control is the next four years, the next cycle of product,” Farley told reporters after the event, citing upcoming new products as well as investments in new supplies of vehicle batteries and technologies.
Tesla does have quite a head start, though. Farley said Ford plans to have the capability of producing 600,000 EVs by 2023, including 150,000 F-150 Lightnings and 200,000 Ford Mach-E crossovers. Tesla, by comparison, delivered more than 930,000 EVs last year.
But Ford said it plans to have the capacity to produce 2 million EVs globally by 2026.

What’s more, Ford is currently ramping up its production of the F-150 Lightning faster than rivals Rivian Automotive and General Motors.
Farley said Ford has already produced 2,000 F-150 Lightnings during the vehicle’s first two weeks of production at a plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Rivian, which started production last fall, produced about 2,500 vehicles, including R1T electric pickups, during the first quarter.

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The two-day meeting will be held in person in Florida next month, the FAA told CNBC. 
Major carriers with big operations in Florida like Spirit, American, JetBlue and others, are expected to attend.
More than 9,000 U.S. flights were delayed or canceled earlier this month after thunderstorms hit Florida.

Travelers look at a display board showing cancelled and delayed flights at Orlando International Airport on New Year’s weekend, despite thousands of flight cancellations and delays across United States.
Paul Hennessy | Lightrocket | Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Administration will meet with major U.S. airline staff next month to discuss ways to improve the flow of air traffic to and from tourism hotspot Florida, where weather delays earlier this month disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers.
The two-day meeting will be held in person in Florida, the FAA told CNBC. Spirit Airlines will attend, according to a person familiar with the matter. Other carriers with big operations in Florida such as American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are also likely to attend.

Airlines have been flying more to some of the Sunshine State’s busiest airports. Florida logged a record of nearly 118 million domestic visitors last year, according to state data.
Miami service is up 113%, Tampa, 107%, and West Palm Beach up 132% over 2019, before the Covid pandemic, according the FAA.
More frequent thunderstorms in the state, coupled with high travel demand and thinner airline staffing levels than needed, contributed to the delay or cancellation of more than 9,000 flights earlier this month.
“The limiting factor on the East Coast has been weather during a time of peak demand,” the FAA said in a statement.
Nearly 1,200 flights at Orlando International Airport, or 5%, so far this month have been canceled up from 2% in 2019, while 36% were delayed, double the percentage during the same period of 2019, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. At Fort Lauderdale International Airport, cancellations are up to 5% of the April schedule from 1% three years ago while delays nearly doubled to 33%.

Air travel in Florida is also facing challenges such as increased military operations and more space launches, all while the pandemic slowed air traffic controller training.
Some airlines are paring their schedules, aiming to improve reliability as they build in more slack in their operations. New York-based JetBlue, Fort Lauderdale-based Spirit and Seattle-based Alaska Airlines have recently cut their schedules for the peak summer season.
“Nobody could have anticipated that Florida in April would have … 115 hours of [air traffic control] delays for that month, compared to 22 in 2019,” JetBlue Airways President Joanna Geraghty said on a quarterly earnings call Tuesday. “So, these are challenging times, and I think we’re doing the responsible thing by taking capacity down and rightsizing it to reflect the resources we have and the external environment.”
Representatives for the airlines didn’t immediately comment on the scheduled meeting.

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