In my series on the top 25 stocks for the NEXT 25 years, I recommended Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) as one of the picks. The stock was at $82 per share on May 21 when I wrote about the company. The $82 price represented a market capitalization of $2.6 billion. Today the stock is at $114.65 with a market cap of $3.7 billion, up over 40% for investors who bought the stock.

But, I have to admit that short-term I am nervous about Chipotle. I still believe the concept is becoming the new rave in the fast food service sector. I still believe that Chipotle could take on McDonald's-like proportions in the years to come -- but I am nervous about the short-term prospects. Why?

I have two reasons. First, higher commodity prices: The price of wheat and dairy has gone up in the United States, which, I believe, could affect Chipotle's pricing structure and general margins. In this consumer-wary environment, restaurants are not about to raise menu prices and risk losing customers. Therefore, I think the food cost expenses for Chipotle's (and many other fast food chains) are going up and will stay high for a while. The second reason I am nervous is Chipotle is a domestic company with no international sales. It is purely reliant on American diners for its revenues.

Large operators like Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) are expanding internationally where the weak dollar will benefit their earnings. The growth that international markets provide is evergreen, but the domestic marketplace and market share must be established and fortified first. Chipotle is not there yet.

Chipotle has been an excellent performer since I wrote the article back in May and, as I said, long term it will be a dominant player. The short-term issue is that the stock is "priced for perfection." This company has put up superb earnings growth, exceeding analysts expectations consistently. With higher commodity prices, the ability to exceed expectations is significantly reduced. Now the victory may be just in "hitting expectations." My estimates for the quarter ending September 30, 2007 is for revenues of $280 million and earnings per share of 27 cents. With lower commodity prices, I would think Chipotle could hit 30-31 cents, thus exceeding the 27-cent estimate. But in this environment, I would be very happy with 27 cents. If this happens, the stock could sell off 10-20%.

So just to be clear, it is still a top 25 stock for the NEXT 25 years, but I am stepping aside for the next couple of quarters. I still estimate revenues for 2008 at $1.32 billion and earnings per share of $2.50 representing a 30% growth rate over 2007. With a price-to-earnings (PE) of 45 times next year's estimates, Chipotle is a bit too expensive. If the stock comes back to the $90-95 price level and it has reported the September quarterly results, I will re-visit the name and keep you posted.

Georges Yared is the CIO of Yared Investment Research and the author of Baby Boomer Investing...Where do we go from here?