El Pollo Loco/$LOCO
1D1W1M3M6MYTD1Y5YMAX
Capital at risk
About El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc operates and franchises hundreds of fast-casual chicken restaurants in the United States. It specializes in fire-grilling citrus-marinated chicken and operates in the limited service restaurant market segment. Its offerings include Mexican-inspired menu items, including burritos, tostadas, bowls, salads, and bone-in chicken meals in various portion sizes. It also offers citrus-marinated fire-grilled chicken, along with a range of salsas and dressings that allow customers to customize their meals. The company operates in one operating segment. The majority of the company's revenue is derived from company-operated restaurant revenue.
- Ticker
- $LOCO
- Sector
- Consumer Discretionary
- Primary listing
- NASDAQ
- Employees
- 4,034
- Headquarters
- Costa Mesa, United States
- Website
- www.elpolloloco.com
El Pollo Loco Metrics
BasicAdvanced
$453M
12.93
$1.15
0.73
-
Price and volume
Market cap
$453M
Beta
0.73
52-week high
$17.40
52-week low
$9.99
Average daily volume
283K
Financial strength
Total debt to equity
0.692
Interest coverage (TTM)
18.77%
Profitability
EBITDA (TTM)
72.044
Gross margin (TTM)
23.06%
Net profit margin (TTM)
6.80%
Operating margin (TTM)
10.91%
Effective tax rate (TTM)
29.02%
Revenue per employee (TTM)
$130,000
Management effectiveness
Valuation
Price to earnings (TTM)
12.928
Price to revenue (TTM)
0.87
Price to book
1.43
Price to tangible book (TTM)
69.89
Growth
Revenue change (TTM)
5.15%
Earnings per share change (TTM)
29.54%
3-year revenue growth (CAGR)
2.29%
10-year revenue growth (CAGR)
3.06%
3-year earnings per share growth (CAGR)
13.90%
10-year earnings per share growth (CAGR)
6.73%
What the Analysts think about El Pollo Loco
Analyst ratings (Buy, Hold, Sell) for El Pollo Loco stock.
Analyst projections of the future price of El Pollo Loco stock.
Bulls say / Bears say
System-wide comparable sales rose 5.0% in the third quarter, the fourth consecutive positive quarter, with traffic also turning positive. Management expects about 4.5% comparable-sales growth for 2026. (El Pollo Loco Holdings)
The development pipeline is accelerating: management expects 25–30 new restaurants in 2027, after targeting 18–20 in 2026. Three franchise development agreements cover 15 New York-area restaurants over five years, extending the brand into a new market. (El Pollo Loco Holdings, El Pollo Loco Holdings)
Digital sales reached 31% of system sales, up from 27% a year earlier, while Loco Rewards membership grew 11%. Those gains offer the company more ways to bring customers back and support sales beyond its in-store channel. (The Motley Fool)
Profit fell despite higher sales: third-quarter net income declined to $6.9 million from $7.4 million, adjusted EBITDA slipped to $17.1 million from $17.4 million, and adjusted EPS fell to $0.24 from $0.27. This suggests sales growth has not yet translated into stronger earnings. (El Pollo Loco Holdings)
Comparable-sales growth still leaned heavily on higher customer spend: company-operated average check rose 4.0%, while transactions increased just 0.3%. If price rises cannot continue at that pace, weak visit growth could limit future sales gains. (El Pollo Loco Holdings)
Cost pressures threaten margins: management expects full-year commodity inflation of slightly more than 3% and narrowed its expected 2026 restaurant contribution margin to 18.25%–18.5%. Higher utilities, repairs and delivery fees also weighed on restaurant costs in the quarter. (The Motley Fool, El Pollo Loco Holdings)
Data summarised monthly by Lightyear AI. Last updated on 6 Nov 2026.
El Pollo Loco Financial Performance
Revenues and expenses
El Pollo Loco Earnings Performance
Company profitability
Upcoming events
No upcoming events
El Pollo Loco News
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Funds containing El Pollo Loco
Fund name | Fund size | $LOCO weighting |
|---|---|---|
SPDR Russell 2000 US Small Cap€R2US | $5.3B | 0.02% |
SPDR Russell 2000 US Small Cap£R2SC | $5.3B | 0.02% |
Data displayed above is indicative only and its accuracy or completeness is not guaranteed. Actual execution price may vary. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Your return may be affected by currency fluctuations and applicable fees and charges. Capital at risk.
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