Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Current Ratio

The current ratio exhibited a downward trend from 1.73 in 2020 to 1.28 in 2022, indicating a reduction in the ability to cover short-term liabilities with current assets over this period. However, there was a recovery in 2023 to 1.57, followed by a slight decrease to 1.52 in 2024, suggesting the company improved its liquidity position after 2022 but did not fully return to the initial higher level seen in 2020.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio followed a somewhat similar pattern, starting at 1.28 in 2020 and increasing slightly to 1.35 in 2021. It then declined to 1.09 in 2022, reflecting a diminishing proportion of liquid assets to current liabilities. This ratio rebounded in 2023 to 1.37 and remained steady at 1.34 in 2024. The fluctuations suggest variability in liquid asset management, with a recovery phase after a low point in 2022.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio started at 1.16 in 2020 and increased to 1.23 in 2021, implying a strengthening of immediate liquidity through cash and cash equivalents. It dropped to 0.98 in 2022, falling below the level of 1.0, indicating less than one dollar in cash for every dollar of current liabilities during that year. In 2023, the cash ratio improved to 1.26 and slightly decreased to 1.22 in 2024. This trend mirrors that of the other liquidity ratios, with a significant dip in 2022 followed by recovery.

Current Assets

Current assets demonstrated fluctuating movement over the reviewed periods. Beginning at 1,420,237 thousand US dollars in the year ending 2020, there was a decline through to 2022, reaching a low of 1,175,837 thousand US dollars. However, a notable recovery occurred in the subsequent years, with current assets increasing significantly to 1,620,713 thousand US dollars by 2023 and continuing to rise to 1,780,587 thousand US dollars in 2024.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities displayed a consistent upward trend throughout the observed timeframe. Starting at 822,199 thousand US dollars in 2020, liabilities steadily increased each year, culminating at 1,168,768 thousand US dollars in 2024. This represents a substantial cumulative growth in current liabilities over the five-year span.

Current Ratio

The current ratio, an indicator of short-term liquidity, showed a declining trend from 1.73 in 2020 to a low of 1.28 in 2022, reflecting a decrease in liquidity relative to current obligations. However, there was an improvement in liquidity positions in the following years, with the ratio increasing to 1.57 in 2023 and then slightly decreasing to 1.52 in 2024. Despite this recent moderation, the current ratio remained above 1, indicating the company maintained sufficient current assets to cover its current liabilities across all years.

Total quick assets

The total quick assets showed a fluctuating trend over the observed periods. Initially, there was an increase from 1,056,103 thousand US dollars at the end of 2020 to a peak of 1,175,918 thousand US dollars by the end of 2021. This was followed by a decline to 1,006,016 thousand US dollars in 2022. Subsequently, there was a significant recovery and growth in quick assets, reaching 1,410,982 thousand US dollars in 2023 and further increasing to 1,566,878 thousand US dollars by the end of 2024. Overall, the value in 2024 exceeded the initial 2020 figure by a substantial margin.

Current liabilities

Current liabilities consistently increased during the period. The liability amount rose steadily year over year from 822,199 thousand US dollars in 2020 to 1,168,768 thousand US dollars in 2024. The growth in current liabilities appears gradual and continuous without any reversals or declines, indicating an increasing short-term financial obligation over time.

Quick ratio

The quick ratio, which measures short-term liquidity by comparing quick assets to current liabilities, displayed moderate variability but remained relatively stable overall. It increased from 1.28 in 2020 to 1.35 in 2021, then experienced a drop to 1.09 in 2022. After this decline, the ratio saw a recovery to 1.37 in 2023, followed by a slight decrease to 1.34 in 2024. Despite fluctuations, the quick ratio consistently stayed above 1.0, suggesting that the company maintained sufficient liquid assets to cover its current liabilities throughout the period.

The financial data reveals several trends concerning liquidity and current obligations over the five-year period.

Total cash assets

There was an initial increase in total cash assets from 951.6 million US dollars in 2020 to 1.076 billion in 2021, followed by a decrease to approximately 899.1 million in 2022. Subsequently, cash assets grew substantially reaching about 1.295 billion in 2023 and further increasing to 1.423 billion in 2024. This indicates a generally positive trend in cash reserves over the longer term after a dip in 2022.

Current liabilities

Current liabilities steadily increased each year, starting at 822.2 million in 2020, rising incrementally to 873.7 million in 2021, 921.9 million in 2022, then to 1.031 billion in 2023, and reaching 1.169 billion in 2024. This continuous rise indicates growing short-term financial obligations over the period analyzed.

Cash ratio

The cash ratio, which measures the company's ability to cover current liabilities using only cash and cash equivalents, generally remained above 1, indicating sound liquidity. It was 1.16 in 2020, peaked at 1.23 in 2021, dipped below 1 to 0.98 in 2022—suggesting a tighter liquidity position that year—before recovering to 1.26 in 2023 and slightly decreasing to 1.22 in 2024. These fluctuations correspond with changes in cash assets and current liabilities.

Overall, the data exhibits a pattern of increasing current liabilities paired with generally growing cash assets, allowing the company to maintain a healthy cash ratio above or near the benchmark of 1 for most years. The dip in 2022 in both cash assets and cash ratio indicates a potential short-term liquidity challenge that was addressed in subsequent years.