Chipotle investors see continued growth, steady leadership after CEO Niccol departs

By Ananya Mariam Rajesh

(Reuters) -Chipotle Mexican Grill's future may not be as bumpy as some shareholders fear upon the departure of CEO Brian Niccol, investors said. 

The burrito chain lost almost $6 billion in stock market value on Tuesday after it announced that Niccol will depart at the end of this month to become CEO of Starbucks. But Chipotle's chief operating officer, Scott Boatwright, will serve as its interim CEO, and some investors said he will provide a steady hand.

On Thursday, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management is one of Chipotle's biggest investors with a 2.1% stake, said the company is in good hands with the team put in place by the departing CEO.

During his tenure as COO, Boatwright along with Niccol oversaw improvements in the quality of the food at Chipotle's more than 3,000 restaurants, eliminating flavor and taste inconsistencies, helping to lift the chain's sales and profit.

"I have confidence they will continue to double down on the smart initiatives that are already well-entrenched inside the company," said Eric Clark, portfolio manager at Accuvest Global Advisors, which owns roughly $3.5 million in Chipotle shares. 

During Boatwright's joint visits with Niccol to Chipotle locations, "Scott would say, 'Hey, show us how you make the guacamole,' and they would go, 'This is how I do it,'" Niccol said in a 2022 event hosted by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. "The answer we were looking for was, 'This is how you do it at Chipotle.' . . . People like consistency."

Chipotle's ability to continue to deliver consistent results under Boatwright remains to be seen, though some said the company is in a good place. Chipotle shares were up 3.8% at $53.62 on Thursday afternoon. The company's shares have risen more than 19% so far this year. 

Ackman said in a letter to his shareholders that while he is disappointed Niccol is leaving, "One of the measures of a great CEO is the company that he leaves behind. Brian has built an extraordinary team at Chipotle that we expect will not lose a step in his departure."

Boatwright joined Chipotle in 2017, just a year before the arrival of Niccol. Over the past five years its shares have risen 243%. During this time, average per-unit volumes grew steadily as the company reinvested in marketing to promote using fresh ingredients and regain consumer trust after E. coli outbreaks in 2015.

It also partnered with DoorDash delivery service so that customers could get their burritos and rice bowls faster and more conveniently.

Don Nesbitt, senior portfolio manager at F/m Investments, which holds a $7.4 million stake in Chipotle, said the chain remains a "great growth opportunity" - in contrast to Starbucks, which he described as "an old growth stock that has become broken ... I think Chipotle is a good stock to hold given its growth with or without Brian."

Chipotle is still growing with more room to expand into Canada, Mexico and overseas into Asia while Starbucks already operates in those markets and around the world, Nesbitt added. Unlike McDonald's, for instance, Chipotle has not "had to resort to resurrecting their value meals," he said.

The burrito chain has yet to name an official successor to Niccol as CEO, though some Chipotle investors said Boatwright could be a reasonable candidate for the top job. 

"If Boatwright is the new CEO, we think that is good enough news for the company to deliver on growth targets," said Nancy Tengler, CEO and chief investment officer at Laffer Tengler Investments, which holds $3.4 million in Chipotle shares. 

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)