Chipotle’s sales are sliding following an E. coli outbreak tied to its restaurants across nine states.

The company is expecting same-store sales to decline by 8% to 11% for the fourth quarter, and analysts say the slide could continue for at least another year.

To judge how long the damage might last, analysts for Oppenheimer compared Chipotle’s situation to a similar outbreak of E. coli illnesses linked to Taco Bell restaurants in 2006.

The Taco Bell outbreak sent the company’s same-store sales into negative territory for five straight quarters.

But things may be worse for Chipotle, according to Oppenheimer.

“While Taco Bell read more >>>

Source : BusinessInsider.Com