El Pollo Loco/$LOCO
1D1W1MYTD1Y5YMAX
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
$433M
12.14
$1.17
0.69
-
Price and volume
Market cap
$433M
Beta
0.69
52-week high
$17.40
52-week low
$8.99
Average daily volume
245K
Financial strength
Current ratio
0.405
Quick ratio
0.315
Long term debt to equity
0.634
Total debt to equity
0.77
Interest coverage (TTM)
13.99%
Profitability
EBITDA (TTM)
65.967
Gross margin (TTM)
23.10%
Net profit margin (TTM)
6.96%
Operating margin (TTM)
9.84%
Effective tax rate (TTM)
29.06%
Revenue per employee (TTM)
$120,000
Management effectiveness
Return on assets (TTM)
5.07%
Return on equity (TTM)
11.79%
Valuation
Price to earnings (TTM)
12.139
Price to revenue (TTM)
0.835
Price to book
1.43
Price to tangible book (TTM)
-53.7
Price to free cash flow (TTM)
10.202
Free cash flow yield (TTM)
9.80%
Free cash flow per share (TTM)
1.394
Growth
Revenue change (TTM)
4.40%
Earnings per share change (TTM)
38.06%
3-year revenue growth (CAGR)
2.01%
10-year revenue growth (CAGR)
3.16%
3-year earnings per share growth (CAGR)
21.71%
10-year earnings per share growth (CAGR)
7.10%
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
Systemwide comparable restaurant sales grew 5.8% year-over-year in Q1 2026, outpacing many fast-casual peers and demonstrating robust consumer demand for El Pollo Loco’s menu innovations (El Pollo Loco Q1 2026 Press Release)
Restaurant-level margin expanded by 320 basis points in Q1 2026 to 19.2%, reflecting strong operating leverage from higher menu prices and improved efficiencies (El Pollo Loco Q1 2026 Press Release)
Net debt was reduced from $51.0 million at year-end 2025 to $30.0 million by Q2 2026, while cash rose to $13.3 million, materially strengthening the balance sheet and liquidity position (El Pollo Loco Q2 2026 Press Release)
Deceleration in systemwide comparable restaurant sales from 5.8% in Q1 to 3.9% in Q2 2026 suggests the pace of traffic growth may be waning as the year progresses (El Pollo Loco Q1 2026 Press Release·El Pollo Loco Q2 2026 Press Release)
Franchise revenue declined 8.8% year-over-year in Q1 and 3.8% in Q2 2026 due primarily to point-of-sale pass-through fluctuations, highlighting volatility in non-company revenue streams (El Pollo Loco Q1 2026 Press Release·El Pollo Loco Q2 2026 Press Release)
Full-year capital expenditure guidance of $33 million–$37 million represents over 50% of expected 2026 adjusted EBITDA, potentially constraining free cash flow for debt reduction or shareholder returns (El Pollo Loco Q2 2026 Press Release)
Data summarised monthly by Lightyear AI. Last updated on 4 Sept 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 | €4.8B | 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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