Earned & PaidChipotle
Chipotle spent $364M on advertising and marketing in fiscal 2025, up 27.3% on the year before and +115% since 2019. That's 3.0% of revenue, less than in 2019: the business outgrew its marketing.
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
Chipotle's management has talked about its marketing budget, but in ways annual filings can't check: one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix.
What they said
“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 on the 2025 Q3 earnings call, Oct 29, 2025 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings It's about part of a year; filings report full years.
What they did
| Year | Marketing spend | Change | Share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $364M | +27.3% | 3.0% |
| FY2024 | $286M | +8.3% | 2.5% |
| FY2023 | $264M | +5.2% | 2.7% |
| FY2022 | $251M | +13.1% | 2.9% |
| FY2021 | $222M | -0.4% | 2.9% |
| FY2020 | $223M | +32.0% | 3.7% |
Against its peers. Compared with the 5 other Restaurants advertisers we track (Starbucks, Yum Brands, Restaurant Brands, Domino's, Wendy's): since 2019 its marketing spend went +115% (peer median +66%); its share of revenue moved +0.0 pts (median +0.4); last year +27.3% (median +9.6%).
In interviews, its leaders made 137 statements about marketing: 4 argued for investing in brand and 0 for cutting.
How we check: a statement gets a verdict only when it's clearly about the size of the whole company's marketing budget over a full fiscal year; we compare it with the advertising and marketing expense in that year's 10-K. Statements about one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix between brand and performance can't be checked against annual filings.
What they say about media
The marketing channels it talks about using for itself on earnings calls and in its 10-Ks and 10-Qs, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- Creative campaigns “His vision is to enhance the way we tell our story, and he's quickly moving the team to implement marketing strategies that highlight the differentiated value of our real food, stretch our creative ambition and resonate on a cultural level.” Scott Boatwright on the earnings call · Aug 7, 2026 · source
- CRM, loyalty & first-party data “Over the last several months, we have seen the successful return of Chipotle Honey Chicken, continued strength from our Cilantro Lime Sauce, our revamped Rewards program and marketing initiatives that helped keep Chipotle top of mind, including several culturally relevant…” Scott Boatwright on the earnings call · Aug 7, 2026 · source
- Measurement “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 on the earnings call · Apr 29, 2026 · source
- AI in marketing “Third, we are in the process of relaunching our rewards program this spring to widen the funnel, leverage our data and AI to power more personalized and impactful user experiences.” Scott Boatwright on the earnings call · Feb 3, 2026 · source
- Linear TV “We have more linear TV this year than last.” Scott Boatwright on the earnings call · Feb 5, 2025 · source
In the news
- Chipotle Brings Back Margaritas in ‘Summon the Spirits Tour’ QSR Magazine · Sep 28, 2026 · campaign