Shares of Alphabet were falling hard in after-hours trading as the company reported a third-quarter revenue and earnings miss on Wednesday, stoking fears that artificial intelligence is pressuring its core search-engine business.
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Unproven but popular peptides touted for wellness have been available on the gray market, despite an official ban. Now, the Department of Health and Human Services is looking to bring them out of the shadows.
HHS said in a new policy that it will exercise enforcement discretion for a half dozen peptides, essentially looking the other way when they’re made by small compounding pharmacies.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a vocal supporter of peptides, saying he has used some of them himself.
Peptides are strings of amino acids, shorter than proteins, that can exert powerful effects in the body. Some occur naturally and others are synthetic variations. Wellness influencers and some clinicians have promoted unproven peptides for a wide range of uses, though the evidence for their safety and effectiveness is sparse.
So even though these peptides have not been through the Food and Drug Administration’s rigorous drug review and approval process, they could become easier to get. But the policy’s focus on smaller producers may mean that pharmacists will have a tough time meeting demand.
In July, a panel of advisers to the FDA voted in favor of expanded access to six peptides through compounding pharmacies. However, at the same meeting the FDA’s own scientists recommended against unwinding the existing restrictions on them.
The new policy says compounding is a safer alternative to illicit “research-use-only” peptides that are available online. They’re often sourced from sketchy suppliers overseas.
The peptides, and some of their unproven uses, are:
BPC-157, ulcerative colitis
Epitalon, insomnia
KPV, wound healing
MOTS-c, metabolic health
Semax, migraine
TB-500, wound healing
Joshua Fritzler, the president of Olympia and Wesley Pharmaceuticals in central Florida, says people have been asking about these peptides for years. But because they were illegal to compound, his company didn’t make them.
The new policy doesn’t change their legal status, but it does create a path for small compounders, called 503A compounding pharmacies. It doesn’t apply to the larger ones, called 503Bs, that are outsourcing facilities producing higher volumes of medicines.
So at Fritzler’s company, only its smaller compounding facility will be able to make the peptides – and only in small quantities, he says.
And that has implications for consumers.
“We won’t be able to meet demand,” he says, explaining that Olympia will likely only compound one of the six peptides and needs to get its facility ready first. “I don’t think all the [503]As in the country could meet the demand.”
The Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding’s CEO Scott Brunner wrote in a statement that his group is pleased with the administration’s decision to allow the peptides to be compounded because it offers a “more accountable alternative” for patients seeking gray market peptides.
“It also brings patients into a system where pharmacy standards, regulatory oversight, and serious adverse event reporting apply,” he says.
Brunner warned, however, that it may take some time for compounding pharmacies to begin dispensing these products to patients. That’s because ingredient suppliers need to make sure their active ingredients meet the policy’s requirements — and pharmacies need to verify that, too.
Several consumer advocacy groups say the policy puts patients at risk, however. The nonprofit Public Citizen noted that Kennedy seems to have acted unilaterally rather than through the typical rulemaking process.
“By allowing unproven and potentially unsafe peptides to be manufactured, marketed and prescribed without concern about potential federal enforcement actions, Kennedy has undermined the FDA and threatened public health,” Dr. Robert Steinbrook, Health Research Group Director at Public Citizen wrote in a statement. “All peptide substances should go through the standard FDA approval process for new drugs. The HHS Secretary should support, not sabotage, needed FDA enforcement actions to protect consumers.”
Steinbrook advised clinicians to talk to their patients and tell them about the risk of contamination and other adverse effects.
The Partnership for Safe Medicines, which includes various pharmacy and pharmacist organizations around the country, filed a citizen petition last week, urging the FDA to ignore the recommendation from its advisory committee in July to allow compounding pharmacies to make the six peptides.
“Today’s decision leaves Americans in a grey area as to whether peptides are safe or not, even though the FDA’s own scientists recommended against voting in favor of these substances due to concerns with evidence,” its executive director Shabbir Safda wrote in a statement.

Anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has unilaterally passed a rule that will allow specialty pharmacies to sell six specific peptide drugs, overruling scientists at the Food and Drug Administration.
The peptides are popular among members of Kennedy’s Make America Health Again movement and many prominent MAHA figures and Kennedy allies sell them. Kennedy said he uses some of the peptides and called himself a “big fan.” But FDA scientists continue to say there is insufficient evidence to show if they’re effective and they are potentially dangerous. In 2023, the safety concerns led the FDA to remove the six peptides from a list of drugs that can be made by specialty pharmacies called compounding pharmacies—which make customized formulations of drugs for patients, or, in cases such as this, specialty drugs in bulk.
Kennedy’s new rule sidesteps the need to formally undo that FDA action. The rule is titled “Enforcement Discretion Policy Regarding 503A Compounding Using Certain Peptide Bulk Drug Substances” and was made available Wednesday on the Federal Register, with the final publication data set for October 30. The rule does not change the regulatory status of the peptide; instead, it states the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will no longer take enforcement action against compounding pharmacies for making the peptides, essentially giving them a green light to freely produce and sell them. Kennedy had quietly proposed this rule earlier this month.
Questionable rationale
Along with the notice in the Federal Register, HHS also posted a more detailed explanation of the policy today that includes more of Kennedy’s rationale for easing enforcement of the six select peptides, which are: BPC-157, Epitalon, KPV, MOTS-c, Semax, and TB-500.
One reason cited for all the peptides was that an FDA advisory panel voted in July to add these six peptides back to the list of drugs compound pharmacies can make. However, prior to the vote, Kennedy stacked that 12-member committee with eight new members. At least six of Kennedy’s additions have ties to peptide-related businesses and clinics, raising serious conflict-of-interest concerns.
Another explanation for allowing the peptides is that the safety concerns are mainly hypothetical or “inferential” and not based on observed harm in humans. But this is mainly because there are few to no studies involving humans that show either benefits or harms from the peptides.
Still, Kennedy argues in the policy that making the peptides more available through compounding pharmacies will improve safety because it will keep people from buying them on the gray or black market or buying formulas not intended for patient use.
“The Secretary of HHS has determined that this limited enforcement-discretion policy will discourage the continued, widespread use of certain research-use-only peptides supplied by foreign manufacturers that pose a safety risk to US patients,” the HHS policy document states.
Calling the compounded peptides “a more controlled alternative” to illegal versions of the peptides, the document says that “the Secretary has determined that the policy advances patient choice and freedom while appropriately protecting patient safety.”
Responses
Peptide sellers online were quick to celebrate the news. Brigham Buhler, who sells peptides in a wellness clinic he runs, cheered the news on X, thanking Kennedy, President Trump, Calley Means, and Joe Rogan. “Medical freedom just took a major step forward!” he wrote.
Zachary Shurtleff, a marketing executive for a wellness-focused compounding pharmacy, also celebrated, writing, ” Peptides are BACK like they never shoulda left!”
Lee Rosebush, chair of the American Academy of Peptide Medicine, a group formed last year, released a statement thanking Kennedy and the Trump administration for “taking a forward-thinking, evidence-based approach to the regulation of peptides.”
Critics have pushed back, noting that there are already reports of harms from peptides.
In a statement released Tuesday, before the new rule was released, the Center for Science in the Public Interest laid out several reasons why making unproven peptides more accessible is dangerous. For one, reports of harms will “continue to mount,” CSPI said. And if any of the peptides actually showed promise of efficacy, reputable pharmaceutical companies will have less incentive to follow up with thorough clinical trials if the peptide is already widely available. Further, allowing access to peptides based on marketing demand could open the doors for other unapproved products, creating an incentive for illegal sales.
Fred Mills, chief policy officer of Americans for Safe and Effective Medicines (ASEM), said in a statement Wednesday that the new rule “does not resolve problems with untested products, safety risks, questionable ingredients, or misleading claims. In fact, we believe this will worsen what we have already seen—the harms from mass compounding hitting communities hard due to a lack of oversight to rein in bad actors. We need to follow the science, and the reality is that FDA itself has continued to sound the alarm on lackluster data on these peptides. Safety and efficacy aren’t a nice-to-have; they are required.”

COMPARABLE RESTAURANT SALES INCREASE 2.1% AS CHIPOTLE DELIVERS A THIRD CONSECUTIVE QUARTER OF POSITIVE TRANSACTION GROWTH
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) today reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2026.
Third quarter highlights, year over year:
Total revenue increased 9.6% to $3.3 billion
Comparable restaurant sales increased 2.1%
Operating margin was 13.7%, a decrease from 15.9%
Restaurant level operating margin1 was 23.3%, a decrease from 24.5%
Diluted earnings per share was $0.27, a 6.9% decrease from $0.29
Adjusted diluted earnings per share1 was $0.27, a 6.9% decrease from $0.29
Opened 84 company-owned restaurants, with 53 locations including a Chipotlane. We also opened five international partner-operated restaurants.
“Three consecutive quarters of positive comparable transaction growth demonstrates that our Recipe for Growth strategy is working,” said Scott Boatwright, Chief Executive Officer, Chipotle. “We’re gaining traction with menu and digital innovation, making significant progress on our high-efficiency equipment rollout, and accelerating our global expansion with entry into three new markets this quarter. These achievements reinforce our confidence in the strategy and our ability to execute as we build Chipotle into an iconic global brand.”
Results for the three months ended September 30, 2026:
Total revenue in the third quarter of 2026 was $3.3 billion, an increase of 9.6% compared to the third quarter of 2025. The increase was driven by new restaurant openings and, to a lesser extent, comparable restaurant sales. Comparable restaurant sales increased 2.1%, including a 1.3% increase in average check and a 0.8% increase in transactions. Digital sales represented 38.8% of total food and beverage revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2026, an increase from 36.7% for the three months ended September 30, 2025.
During the third quarter we opened 84 company-owned restaurants, of which 53 included a Chipotlane, and five international partner-operated restaurants. Chipotlanes continue to perform well and are helping enhance guest access and convenience, as well as increase new restaurant sales, margins and returns.
Food, beverage and packaging costs in the third quarter of 2026 were 29.5% of total revenue, a decrease from 30.0% in the third quarter of 2025. The decrease was primarily driven by the benefit of menu price increases, tariff relief, and favorable limited-time offer mix. These benefits were partially offset by inflation, primarily in beef and freight, and higher protein usage.
Labor costs in the third quarter of 2026 were 25.7% of total revenue, an increase from 25.2% in the third quarter of 2025. The increase was primarily driven by lower sales volumes, higher employee compensation, including wage inflation and performance-based bonuses, additional restaurant labor supporting operational execution including promotional activities, and increased insurance costs. These headwinds were partially offset by the benefit from menu price increases.
General and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2026 were $185.2 million, compared to $146.7 million in the third quarter of 2025. The increase was driven by stock-based compensation, performance bonuses, and outside services related to corporate initiatives. Adjusted general and administrative expenses1 for the third quarter of 2026 were $183.8 million, compared to $138.7 million in the third quarter of 2025.
The effective income tax rate for the third quarter of 2026 was 25.6%, an increase from 23.1% in the third quarter of 2025. The increase was primarily due to an increase in nondeductible expenses and a reduction in tax credits.
Net income for the third quarter of 2026 was $339.9 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, compared to $382.1 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted net income1 for the third quarter of 2026 was $344.6 million, or $0.27 per adjusted diluted share, compared to $389.9 million, or $0.29 per adjusted diluted share, in the third quarter of 2025.
During the third quarter of 2026 we repurchased $110.0 million of stock at an average price per share of $34.05. As of September 30, 2026, $1.6 billion remained available under share repurchase authorizations from our Board of Directors. The repurchase authorization may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time.
More information will be available in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in accordance with applicable rules.
Outlook
For 2026, management continues to anticipate the following:
Full year comparable restaurant sales growth in the low single digit range
350 to 370 new restaurant openings, which includes 10 to 15 international partner-operated restaurants. Around 80% of new company-owned restaurants will have a Chipotlane
An estimated underlying full year effective tax rate between 24% and 26% before discrete items
For 2027, management is anticipating the following:
340 to 360 new company-owned restaurant openings in the U.S. and Canada
Around 15 to 25 company-owned and partner-operated restaurants outside the U.S. and Canada.
Definitions
The following definitions apply to these terms as used throughout this release:
Comparable restaurant sales, or sales comps, and comparable restaurant transactions, represent the change in period-over-period total revenue or transactions for company-owned restaurants in operation for at least 13 full calendar months.
Average restaurant sales refers to the average trailing 12-month food and beverage revenue for company-owned restaurants in operation for at least 12 full calendar months.
Restaurant level operating margin represents total revenue less direct restaurant operating costs, expressed as a percent of total revenue.
Digital sales represent food and beverage revenue for company-owned restaurants generated through the Chipotle website, Chipotle app or third-party delivery aggregators. Digital sales include revenue deferrals associated with Chipotle Rewards.
Partner-operated restaurants represent Chipotle restaurants over which Chipotle does not have a controlling financial interest and for which Chipotle does not directly manage day-to-day operations. This includes restaurants operated by third parties pursuant to license or franchise agreements and restaurants in which Chipotle holds a minority, non‑controlling ownership interest.
Conference Call Details and Supplemental Slides
Chipotle will host a conference call on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 4:30 PM Eastern time to discuss third quarter 2026 financial results and provide a business update for the fourth quarter to date. In connection with the call, supplemental slides will be available on the company’s website at ir.chipotle.com/presentations.
The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 1-888-317-6003 or, for international callers, by dialing 1-412-317-6061 and entering code: 6029014. The call will be webcast live on the company’s website at ir.chipotle.com/events. An archived webcast will be available approximately one hour after the end of the call.
Available Information
We use the investor relations section at ir.chipotle.com and newsroom section at newsroom.chipotle.com, as well as other portions of our website (together, our “website”) and our LinkedIn profile as means to routinely distribute important or material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors and potential investors are encouraged to consult our website and this social media channel regularly for important information, in addition to following our press releases, filings with the SEC, and public conference calls and webcasts. You may sign up on our website to automatically receive e-mail alerts when we post financial information and issue press releases and to receive information about upcoming events. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website, LinkedIn, and any corresponding applications of those sites, is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this release.
About Chipotle
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. There are over 4,200 restaurants as of September 30, 2026, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, the Middle East, and South Korea. Chipotle is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in the United States, Canada and Europe. With nearly 140,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. For more information or to place an order online, visit WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release, in the October 28, 2026, conference call and in the supplemental slides for the call are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements under “Outlook,” and about our anticipated full year 2026 comparable restaurant sales growth, the number of new company-owned and international partner-operated restaurant openings in 2026 and 2027, expected number of restaurants with Chipotlanes, and estimated underlying effective 2026 full year tax rate, as well as statements about the expected success of our “Recipe for Growth” strategy overall and its related initiatives, the impacts of pricing and inflation in 2026 and 2027, our future food, beverage, packaging, labor, general and administrative and other costs, future estimated tax rate and future long-term prospects. We use words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “should”, “may”, “approximately”, “estimate”, “confident”, “assuming”, “expect”, “intend”, “project”, “target”, “goal” and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions, to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on currently available operating, financial and competitive information available to us as of the date of this release and speak only as of the date they are made. We assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the statements, including but not limited to: wage inflation and state or local regulations mandating higher minimum wages; the competitive labor market, which impacts our ability to attract and retain qualified employees; the impact of any union organizing efforts and our responses to such efforts; increases in ingredient and other operating costs due to inflation, global conflicts, severe weather, our Food with Integrity philosophy, tariffs, or trade restrictions; intermittent supply shortages relating to our Food with Integrity philosophy, rapid expansion, limited time offerings, and supply chain disruptions; risks and impacts of food safety incidents and food-borne illnesses; our reliance on certain information technology systems and potential material failures, interruptions, or outages; risks that our investments in new technology and technological innovations may not generate returns; privacy and cybersecurity risks, including breaches, unauthorized access, theft, modification, destruction, or ransom of guest or employee personal or confidential information stored on our network or the network of third party providers; the impact of competition, including from sources outside the restaurant industry; the impact of government laws and regulations relating to our employees, employment practices, restaurant design and construction, and the sale of food or alcoholic beverages; our ability to achieve our planned growth, such as the costs and availability of suitable new restaurant sites, construction materials, and contractors and restaurant equipment; the expected costs and risks related to our international expansion, including through partner-operated restaurants in the Middle East, South Korea, and Mexico; our ability to achieve expected levels of comparable restaurant sales due to factors such as changes in guests’ perceptions of our brand, including as a result of negative publicity or social media posts and decreased consumer spending or restaurant visits, or the inability to increase menu prices or realize the benefits of menu price increases; failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance or any announced guidance and the impact thereof; the potential impact of activist shareholder actions or tactics; failure to attract or retain key executive talent; the impact of our brand, marketing, promotional, advertising, and pricing strategies, digital platform and menu innovations; our reliance on third-party delivery services and the information technology infrastructure; and enforcement and litigation risks, including possible governmental actions and potential litigation related to food safety incidents, cybersecurity incidents, employment or privacy laws, advertising claims, contract disputes, or other matters. In addition, many of the foregoing risks and uncertainties are, or could be, exacerbated by any worsening of the global business and macroeconomic environment or developments in the rapidly evolving capabilities of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. These statements also are subject to other risk factors described from time to time in our SEC reports, including our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, all of which are available on the investor relations page of our website at ir.Chipotle.com.
1 Restaurant level operating margin, adjusted diluted earnings per share, adjusted net income, adjusted general and administrative expenses, and non-GAAP effective income tax rate are non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations to GAAP measures and further information are set forth in the table at the end of this press release.
CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
Below are definitions of the non-GAAP financial measures in this release. The following tables provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.
Adjusted net income is net income excluding restaurant asset impairment and stock-based compensation retention.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing adjusted net income by the diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding.
Adjusted general and administrative expenses are general and administrative expenses excluding expenses related to stock-based compensation expense for specified retention equity awards.
The adjusted effective income tax rate is the effective income tax rate adjusted to reflect the after-tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments.
Restaurant level operating margin is equal to the revenues generated by our restaurants less direct restaurant operating costs, which consist of food, beverage and packaging, labor, occupancy and other operating costs, expressed as a percent of total revenue. This performance measure primarily includes the costs that restaurant level managers can directly control and excludes other costs that are essential to conduct our business. Management uses restaurant level operating margin as a measure of restaurant performance. Management believes restaurant level operating margin is useful because it highlights trends in our core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP financial measures.
We present these non-GAAP measures to facilitate a meaningful evaluation of our operating performance across periods. These adjustments are intended to provide greater transparency of underlying performance and to allow investors to evaluate our business on the same basis as management, which uses these non-GAAP measures in evaluating our performance.
Our adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, adjusted general and administrative expenses, adjusted effective income tax rate, and restaurant level operating margin measures may not be comparable to other companies’ adjusted measures. These adjustments are not necessarily indicative of what our actual financial performance would have been during the periods presented and should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative to, our results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Further details regarding these adjustments are included in the tables below.
SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.