Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) recently hit a new high following the company's latest earnings update. The fast-casual restaurant chain reported strong sales growth thanks to a combination of an expanding store base and increasing customer traffic. Burrito fans didn't balk at rising menu prices, either, in part due to the chain's improvements in areas like food quality and customer service.

Yet, one metric stands out as particularly good news for shareholders planning on holding the stock through 2023 and beyond. Let's take a closer look at Chipotle's expanding profitability, which led to a near-doubling of operating income this past quarter.

Chipotle stores aren't franchised, and so the company can't generate anything approaching the nearly 45% operating profit margin that McDonald's achieves. But corporate control does allow for the quick implementation of strategic shifts around things like staffing and the pipeline of new store launches. The chain can target attractive growth avenues like drive-thru as well.

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Source Fool.com