CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, INC. vs SHAKE SHACK INC., two Restaurants stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Chipotle stands as the profitability benchmark that Shake Shack still aspires to. The company-owned fast-casual chain returns 60.31% on equity, keeps 11.96% of revenue, carries no debt, and generates a 3.47% free cash flow yield. Shake Shack, the better-burger operator building out locations, returns 7.43% on equity, keeps just 2.76% of sales, and yields 0.69% in cash while carrying 0.45 debt-to-equity. Shake Shack actually trades richer at 58.1 times earnings versus Chipotle's 30.58, a premium for its earlier growth stage. Chipotle, at $43.4B, is nearly twenty times the size of Shake Shack's $2.3B.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CMG | SHAK |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $35.26 | $58.61 |
| Market cap | $45.9B | $2.4B |
| Sector | Restaurants | Restaurants |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +22.6% | — |
| P/E | 32.4 | 59.8 |
| P/B | 19.07 | 4.26 |
| P/S | 3.78 | 1.58 |
| EV/EBITDA | 20.5 | 13.8 |
| Revenue growth | +5.7% | +16.2% |
| Operating margin | 12.9% | -0.7% |
| Net margin | 12.0% | 2.8% |
| Return on equity | 60.3% | 7.4% |
| Return on assets | 16.5% | 2.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 57.5% | 5.6% |
| FCF yield | 3.3% | 0.7% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.45 |
| Current ratio | 0.92 | 1.69 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 5.85 | 1.97 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.