Sales at established locations are an important indicator of a company's financial health because the metric strips out the volatility of newly opened and closed locations. In a call with analysts, Chipotle's Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung said the strong performance pushed the company's average annual sales to more than $2.2 million per restaurant for the first time. Maximizing sales is also why companies talk so much about improving "throughput" — how quickly they can ring up orders so people aren't waiting in line (and potentially walking away). In the first quarter, Chipotle said it increased the number of transactions it handles during the peak lunch hour of noon to 1 p.m.