In This Twisted World, Taco Bell Stock Is Up And Chipotle Stock Is Down

Is the Great Carnitas Shortage of 2015 coming back to haunt Chipotle? Chipotle, Yum! Brands, and other companies just reported their first quarter results, and surprisingly, despite a 20 percent revenue growth of $1.09 billion, Chipotle's shares still fell 4.7 percent by the end of the first quarter, disappointing investors who had expected a stronger outcome, according to The New York Times. In comparison, Yum! Brands shares were up 4.8 percent yesterday, with a total 9.5 percent growth this year, despite an overall struggle to catch up to fast-casual restaurants' success.

Experts speculate that Chipotle took a hit after removing carnitas from the menu in one-third of its locations and raising prices to offset skyrocketing beef and dairy costs. Overall, however, Chipotle has seen 37 percent stock growth in the past 12 months.

The success behind Yum! Brands on the stock market is more speculative, however. In international markets, Yum! saw a considerable dip in revenue after a scandal last year involving tainted meat in China. Overall sales are down 4 percent for Taco Bell and the rest of the Yum! Brands, perhaps indicating that fast food restaurants still struggle in the face of fast-casual success.