Australia’s largest burrito chain sunk to a $26.7 million loss after closing US restaurants, but its share price has soared due to a massive revenue increase.

Guzman Y Gomez on Friday revealed its loss after announcing in May that it was shutting down eight stores in Chicago.

The company booked a $67.3 million write-down from closing these stores in a major blow to its $40.6 million underlying profit in the 2026 financial year.

A letter from co-CEOs Steven Mark and Hilton Brett said the closures were right for the Mexican-themed chain.

“While we made the difficult decision to close our US operations earlier this year, we believe this was the right long-term decision that we will discuss in more depth in this letter,” the letter said.

“The exit from our US operations is now complete. While we take with us many learnings, our conviction in the success of GYG outside Australia has not changed.”

The co-CEOs also highlighted widespread cost of living problems plaguing Australians, but noted it was maintaining customers.

“Despite a more challenging macroeconomic environment this year, the value embedded in our menu (for example, our $12 Brekkie Bundle, $12 Chicken Mini Meal or $3 taco) has increasingly resonated with guests,” they said.

The company reported an 18 per cent jump in revenue to about $1.38 billion and declared a 48 cent per share franked full-year dividend.

Investors rallied behind the burrito chain after it shared its results.

Its share price jumped 12.4 per cent as of 12.10pm, boosting the company’s value by about $300 million.

Investors were also buoyed by GYG’s strong performance in the first seven weeks of the 2027 financial year.

Sales growth was expected to continue at “mid-single digits” throughout FY27 but has tracked above this at “high-single digit levels”.

Guzman Y Gomez opened 32 new restaurants in Australia and another three in Singapore throughout the past financial year.

The chain added 20 restaurants in the second half of the financial year, lifting the global number of GYG restaurants to 284.

It has plans for another 35 stores in Australia across FY27, with many expected to open towards the end of the financial year.