Friday, November 14, 2014

Correlation/Causation: Burritos/Clothing

From Bespoke Investment Group:
UA = CMG...Wait What?
We look at a lot of stock charts here at Bespoke, and in doing so sometimes patterns just jump off the screen.  This morning, we noticed one that seemed too ridiculous to be true, to the point where we had to check that our screens were working properly.
The degree of similarity for these two charts is nothing short of amazing.  Chiptole Mexican Grill is a purveyor of burritos (which the Bespoke team have been known to enjoy occasionally) while Under Armour makes high performance sports apparel and accessories.  Chipotle operates fast casual restaurants and interfaces directly with consumers, while the vast majority of Under Armour's sales come via relationships with third party retailers.  Chipotle is exposed to agricultural commodity costs while the synthetic materials that are used in producing Under Armor clothing are a whole seperate area of the commodities markets.  While both companies are pursuing similar segments of the population (semi-affluent or affluent consumers with active lifestyles and strong brand awareness), we didn't think the phenomenon of hitting Chipotle for carnitas after your work out in Under Armour gym wear was so widespread.  But with a 0.94 correlation.....MORE