Desmond Boylan/Reuters Pictures A man sells avocados outside a food market in Havana.
- Chipotle's second quarter earnings topped Wall Street expectations on Thursday.
- Shares climbed as much as 6.1% following the release.
- Follow Chipotle's stock price in real-time here.
Chipotle surged more than 6% in after-hours trading Thursday after the burrito chain posted earnings that topped Wall Street expectations.
For the second quarter, Chipotle said it earned an adjusted $2.87 per share, while analysts had expected $2.76. It also posted revenue of $1.267 billion, compared to the consensus Wall Street estimate of $1.261.
Cheaper avocado prices were to thank for the extra earnings power, the company said, citing food costs that were down 150 basis points to 32.6% of revenue.
Same-store sales, a closely watched metric for restaurant chains, increased 3.3% over the same quarter in 2017.
"I'm pleased to report a solid second quarter with sales and restaurant margins ahead of expectations," Brian Niccol, Chipotle's CEO, said in a press release. "While we made progress during the quarter with particular strength in digital sales, I firmly believe we can accelerate that progress by executing our reorganization and our strategy to win today and cultivate tomorrow."
Shares of Chipotle are up 60% since the beginning of the year, but are still well off their high of more than $750 set in 2015 before a spate of food poisoning outbreaks sent the stock spiraling as low as $247.
