Chipotle

Marketing spend by year

Bars: advertising and marketing expense, $B (10-K). Line: spend as a share of revenue.

What they told investors

“So as you think about marketing spend, your goal is sales overnight and brand over time.”management · 2026 Q1 · transcript

“Marketing costs were 3.4% of sales in Q1, an increase of about 40 basis points from last year as we increased our marketing spend in the quarter to support menu innovation and to remain top of mind with our guests.”Adam Rymer · 2026 Q1 · transcript

“As it relates to marketing spend, we know that our marketing dollars on return on ad spend work the hardest on the national level and to bifurcate that spend to attack something locally would be costly, and I don't know if it's the most efficient use of our dollars.”Scott Boatwright · 2026 Q1 · transcript

“There remains significant opportunity to expand our leadership in this fast-growing segment by sharpening our positioning, increasing spend, and refreshing our campaigns to strengthen our value perception and further engage our guests through new occasions and increased menu…”Scott Boatwright · 2025 Q4 · transcript

“In the third quarter, we accelerated our marketing spend to communicate the brand's extraordinary value through menu innovation, our rewards platform, and high engagement promotions like the college football BOGO and Chipotle IQ.”Scott Boatwright · 2025 Q3 · transcript

Say vs do

Receipts say brand/spend down. In 137 statements from its leaders in interviews, 4 argued for investing in brand and 0 for cutting; the filed spend went down.

In the news

• Chipotle Brings Back Margaritas in ‘Summon the Spirits Tour’ QSR Magazine · Sep 28, 2026 · campaign

Peers