Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (Chipotle) ​​is an American Mexican cuisine restaurant company that has developed and operates in the fast casual restaurant sector of Mexican food fees across the United States. Chipotle is the catalyst for this new restaurant category. Chipotle believes that the idea that food served quickly does not have to be that of typical fast food. The company operates Mexican cuisine restaurants in the United States, Canada and London, all under the flagship and trademarked Chipotle brand. Chipotle also focuses on using the best ingredients and implementing its mission statement of “food with integrity.” Their focused menu of burritos, burrito bowls, tacos and salads; are made to order right in front of you, using high quality organic ingredients which are usually supplied by a number of reputable local suppliers to the food industry. Chipotle also offers the latest technology trends using mobile apps and online ordering systems. Chipotle Mexican Grill has its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as a leader in the fast-casual restaurant industry. Company OverviewChipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is a chain of restaurants in the United States and Canada specializing in burritos and tacos. Chipotle was founded by Steve Ells in 1993 with the goal of selling 100 burritos per day to be profitable. Chipotle is based in Denver, Colorado and has become somewhat of a phenomenon in the restaurant industry. Chipotle has experienced tremendous growth since 2006 when the company went public (Lepore, 2011). Chipotle has consistently maintained a strong buy rating by stock market financial analysts (Hoover, 2014). Much of the success can be attributed to the ever-growing customer base, as well as senior executives...... middle of paper ... who will likely have more luck securing short-term loans from lenders . Chipotle's debt-to-equity ratio is extremely low compared to its competitors. At 0.31 Chipotle is doing very well, Yum Brands at 3.01, McDonalds at 1.59 and Panera at 0.69 while the industry average is at 0.77 (http://investing.businessweek.com) . With the current ratio, Chipotle has more than enough capacity to repay long-term loans and, if necessary, will be able to obtain lower interest rates on any new long-term loans. The price-to-earnings ratio, again Chipotle, is extremely strong at 55.8. Yum Brands at 26.04, McDonalds at 17.8, Panera at 27.39 and the industry average is 25.03 (http://investing.businessweek.com). With this trend being more than twice the industry average, Chipotle will pay significantly higher dividends and attract more investors than other companies..