NEW YORK—Chipotle said Friday that an outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants sent sales plummeting by as much as 22 percent in recent weeks and that it could no longer reasonably estimate sales for next year.
The Denver-based chain said in a regulatory filing that sales trends have been “extremely volatile” since it closed restaurants in Oregon and Washington in early November as a result of the outbreak.
For the final three months of the year, it said it expects sales to be down between 8 to 11 percent at established locations if trends continue. Earnings are also expected to fall to between $2.45 and $2.85 per share for the quarter. That’s down from last year’s $3.84 per share.
Chipotle’s stock slid more than 7 percent in after-market trading. Its shares have dropped 25 percent since mid-October.
Before rescinding its outlook Friday, the company had expected sales for 2016 to rise in the low-single digit percentages.
