LOCO · El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
$15.20
-0.42 (-2.69%)
At close · Aug 27
Market Cap
$462.58M
Shares
30.43M
Price & Indicators
20d MA
50d MA
200d MA
Earnings
Filing
Insider
Congress
Investor day
Close$15.20
Open$15.53
Day$15.18–15.53
52W close$9.06–17.20
Avg vol 30d251K
Short int1.5M · 5.1% float · 5.0d
Short vol63%
Last earningsAug 6, 2026
DataJan 2020–Aug 2026
Filing10-Q · Aug 7
Up next
Next earnings call
Nov 5, 2026
Est · unconfirmed
· in 10 wks
FQ3-26 quarter ends
~Sep 30, 2026
Est
filed Aug 7, 2026
AI Brief
TL;DR.
Bullish
Bearish
From the call
AI-generated from the earnings call and 8-K · may contain errors · not investment advice
Ask ALVIS about this →Equibles Rating
blended score · not investment adviceOverall
Buy
SellHoldBuy
Technical
Sell
Momentum
Strong
Sentiment
Bullish
Fundamentals
Strong
Quant / Vol
Moderate
Market backdrop
VIX 14.5 · calm
Equity put/call 0.39
Technical
price trend
50 / 200-day cross
No cross
Price vs 200-day avg
+15%
above
Price vs 50-day avg
−5%
below
RSI (14)
42
neutral
MACD trend
Negative
52-week position
75%
mid-range
Momentum
relative strength
1-month return
−8%
trailing
6-month return
+38%
trailing
YTD return
+45%
this year
Relative strength
+24%
vs S&P · 6-mo
Sentiment
smart money
Trend (MA cross)
No cross
50d $16 › 200d $13 — 50d above 200d
Institutional flow
Accumulating
+6% holders QoQ · +24 funds added
Insider flow
Distributing
Net -$9.6M over 90 days · 100% sells
Short interest
Falling
5.09% of float · ▼ -5.4% MoM · 5.0 days cover
Volume signal
Normal
Volume near normal
Institution breadth
Multi-yr high
150 holders — near 3-yr high, broad support
Squeeze score
53
elevated · 0–100
Fundamentals
Revenue growth
+6%
Y/Y
EPS growth
+5%
Y/Y
Free cash flow
$25.4M
Valuation
P/E 13
below peers
Balance sheet
$68.0M
net debt
Quant / Vol
risk profile
Volatility
37%
annualized · 1-yr
Max drawdown
−16%
past year
ATR
3.5%
of price · 14-day
Blended from price, momentum, positioning, fundamentals & volatility · daily-close · not investment advice. Market backdrop is context, not part of the score.
Guidance & track record
Latest guidance
· from the 8-K filed Aug 6, 2026
System-wide comparable restaurant sales growth
· fiscal year 2026
Initiated
3.5% – 4.5%
Estimated effective income tax rate before discrete items
· fiscal year 2026
Maintained
29% – 29.5%
May 7, 2026
29% – 29.5%
changed to
Aug 6, 2026
29% – 29.5%
Prior guidance
period ended
· from the 8-K filed Oct 30, 2025
G&A expense
· the remainder of 2025
$47.5M – $49.5M
Estimated effective income tax rate
· the remainder of 2025
29% – 29.25%
Guidance from company 8-Ks · delivered figures from as-reported statements · no analyst estimates involved.
Technicals
trend & momentum for long-term holders Sell
50 / 200-day cross
No cross
Neutral
Price vs 200-day avg
+15%
Bullish
Price vs 50-day avg
−5%
Bearish
RSI (14)
42
Neutral
MACD trend
Negative
Bearish
52-week position
75%
Neutral
Market signals — smart money & positioning
Bullish · 3 of 6
Trend (MA cross)
No cross
50d $16 › 200d $13 — 50d above 200d
Institutional flow
Accumulating
+6% holders QoQ · +24 funds added
Insider flow
Distributing
Net -$9.6M over 90 days · 100% sells
Short interest
Falling
5.09% of float · ▼ -5.4% MoM · 5.0 days cover
Volume signal
Normal
Volume near normal
Institution breadth
Multi-yr high
150 holders — near 3-yr high, broad support
Price context
position in its 52-week range
Range low $9
Now $15 · 75%
Range high $17
vs 200-day avg +15%
vs 50-day avg -5%
Illustrative technical + ownership context — a signal mix, not investment advice.
Key metrics
the company's own KPIs, from written earnings releases and filings| Metric | Latest | Period | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EBITDA non-GAAP | 37.3M | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
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| Adjusted net income non-GAAP | 17.25M | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
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| Company-operated comparable restaurant sales non-GAAP | 3% | Q2 2026 | — |
| Company-operated comparable restaurant sales growth | 4.2% | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| Company-operated comparable restaurants | 172 | as of July 1, 2026 | — |
| Company-operated restaurants at end of period | 175 | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| EBITDA non-GAAP | 39.38M | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| Franchise comparable restaurant sales non-GAAP | 4.5% | Q2 2026 | — |
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| Franchise-operated comparable restaurants | 317 | as of July 1, 2026 | — |
| Franchise-operated restaurants at end of period | 336 | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| Restaurant contribution | 41.42M | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
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| Restaurant contribution margin | 19.4% | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
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| Restaurants in the comparable base | 172 | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| System-wide comparable restaurants | 489 | as of July 1, 2026 | — |
| System-wide restaurant activity: Restaurants at end of period | 511 | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| System-wide sales | 599.85M | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| Adjusted net income per share - Basic non-GAAP | $0.28 | Thirteen Weeks Ended April 1, 2026 | — |
| Adjusted net income per share - Diluted non-GAAP | $0.28 | Thirteen Weeks Ended April 1, 2026 | — |
| Restaurants at end of period | 505 | Thirteen Weeks Ended April 1, 2026 | — |
| Average check size | 2.7% | fourth quarter ended December 31, 2025 | — |
| Comparable company-operated restaurant revenue | 0.4% | fourth quarter ended December 31, 2025 | — |
| Comparable company-operated restaurants | 170 | December 31, 2025 | — |
| Comparable franchise store sales | 3.3% | fourth quarter ended December 31, 2025 | — |
| Comparable franchised restaurants | 312 | December 31, 2025 | — |
| Franchised restaurants at end of period | 328 | As of December 31, 2025 | — |
| System-wide comparable restaurant sales non-GAAP | 2.1% | fourth quarter ended December 31, 2025 | — |
| System-wide restaurants at end of period | 503 | Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2025 | — |
Figures exactly as the company stated them in writing · click a metric with a to chart its history · period links open the stating document · "filing" marks figures stated in the 10-K/10-Q · YoY needs an exactly comparable prior-year period
Versus peers
Restaurants — same industry group| Company | Mkt cap | YTD | Rev growth Y/Y | P/E | Short % shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
LOCO
this stock
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
|
$462.58M | +45.3% | +5.7% | 13.0 | 5.1% |
|
MCD
Mcdonalds Corp
|
$184.03B | -14.9% | +3.7% | 21.1 | 1.6% |
|
SBUX
Starbucks Corp
|
$123.68B | +27.4% | +2.8% | 62.7 | 3.3% |
|
CMG
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc
|
$46.94B | +0.6% | +5.4% | 34.0 | 3.0% |
|
YUM
Yum Brands Inc
|
$42.14B | -0.4% | +8.8% | 19.4 | 3.2% |
Peers by industry group · P/E from as-reported trailing EPS · short % is of shares outstanding
At a glance
key data from every sectionOwnership
Short & Settlement
Smart Money
Financials
Filings
Earnings & Events
Performance
| 5D | 20D | 120D | MTD | YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOCO | -1.1% | -7.8% | +38.2% | -7.7% | +45.3% |
| SPY | +1.1% | +4.0% | +14.7% | +3.2% | +13.1% |
| vs SPY | -2.2% | -11.7% | +23.5% | -10.9% | +32.2% |
Capital returns
Latest dividend
$1.50
/ share · ex Oct 21, 2022
Paid (TTM)
$0.00
/ share · 0 payouts
Dividend yield (TTM, derived)
— · no payout in the trailing year
Buyback program
· as of May 23, 2024
Authorized
shares 1.53M
Spent (derived)
—
Remaining
—
Dividends per share over the trailing 365 days by ex-date · buyback figures as last reported in SEC filings ("spent" derived as authorized − remaining; when several programs run concurrently, authorized is their combined total per the newest filing) · components shown separately — trailing-year buyback spend isn't tracked, so no combined shareholder yield is derived.
Key facts
CIK
1606366
CUSIP
268603107
13F (30d)
134 filings
134 filers
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