What does deferred licensing revenue — unearned revenue mean?

This metric represents the portion of revenue received from licensing or franchise agreements that has been collected in advance but not yet earned through the delivery of services or the passage of time. It reflects the company's obligation to provide ongoing support, brand access, or operational guidance to international partners or franchisees. As the company fulfills these contractual obligations over the term of the agreement, this liability is recognized as revenue on the income statement.

Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG Deferred licensing revenue — Unearned revenue

Similar metrics at other companies

IBT

IBTADeferred revenue — Deferred Revenue

$2.7M-51.8%

OUSTDeferred revenues from multi-year licensing agreements — Liability revenue recognized

$0-100%

OUSTDeferred revenues from multi-year licensing agreements — Contract liabilities, current

$133K-98.6%

NUVBLicense — Deferred Revenue

$58.7M—

OUSTDeferred revenues from multi-year licensing agreements — Contract liabilities, non-current portion

$391K-26.4%

XOMADeferred income

$2.86M-30.0%

Other financials

Income statement

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Revenue$3.1B+7.4%

Operating income$397.1M-17.1%

Net income$302.8M-21.7%

EPS (diluted)$0.23-17.9%

Balance sheet

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Cash & equivalents$282.3M-62.7%

Total debt$5.2B+13.2%

Total equity$2.4B-31.0%

Total assets$8.8B-2.7%

Cash flow

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Operating cash flow$651.4M+16.9%

CapEx$180.3M+24.5%

Free cash flow$471.0M+14.3%

Valuation

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Market cap$42.77B-41.9%

Enterprise value$47.73B-38.4%

P/E29.5×-18.3×

P/S3.5×-2.8×

Profitability

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Operating margin15.3%-1.7pp

Net margin12%-1.6pp

FCF margin12.4%-0.5pp

Returns & leverage

See full

Return on equity49.2%+3.7pp

Debt / equity2.2×+0.9×

Current ratio0.9×-0.6×

Where this comes from

Reported directly by Chipotle Mexican Grill in its filing.

Tagged under the XBRL concept us-gaap:ContractWithCustomerLiabilityCurrent.

The official record: Chipotle Mexican Grill’s 10-Q, filed April 30, 2026, on SEC EDGAR. View the filing →

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What is Chipotle Mexican Grill's deferred licensing revenue — unearned revenue?: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) reported deferred licensing revenue — unearned revenue of $1.97M in Q1 2026.
What does deferred licensing revenue — unearned revenue mean?: This metric represents the portion of revenue received from licensing or franchise agreements that has been collected in advance but not yet earned through the delivery of services or the passage of time. It reflects the company's obligation to provide ongoing support, brand access, or operational guidance to international partners or franchisees. As the company fulfills these contractual obligations over the term of the agreement, this liability is recognized as revenue on the income statement.