LOCO · El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
Price & Indicators
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Metrics snapshot
Useful current figures from the complete screener profile.
AI Brief
Q2 FY26 earnings call · Aug 6, 2026TL;DR. El Pollo Loco posted Q2 system-wide comparable sales of 3.9%, restaurant-level margin of 19.5% within its 18–20% target, and raised full-year 2026 system-wide comp sales guidance to 3.5%–4.5% and adjusted EBITDA to $68–$70M while trimming capex to $33–$37M.
- + Raised 2026 system-wide comparable sales outlook to 3.5%–4.5%
- + Q2 net income rose to $12.8M ($0.43 diluted) vs. $7.1M ($0.24) a year ago, aided by a $6.3M legal settlement
- − Significant produce cost pressure weighed on COGS in Q2
- − Company-operated comparable restaurant transactions fell 1.1% despite a 4.2% check lift
- − Franchise revenue declined 3.8% to $12.9M, largely due to a $1.1M drop in franchisee IT pass-through revenue from the completed POS rollout
- − Revolver pricing spreads up by about 50 basis points under the amended credit facility
AI-generated from the earnings call and 8-K · may contain errors · not investment advice
Equibles Rating
blended score · not investment adviceBlended from price, momentum, positioning, fundamentals & volatility · daily-close · not investment advice. Market backdrop is context, not part of the score.
Guidance & track record
Guidance from company 8-Ks · delivered figures from as-reported statements · no analyst estimates involved.
Technicals
trend & momentum for long-term holders BuyIllustrative 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 | — |
| Company-operated comparable restaurant sales non-GAAP | 3% | the second quarter of 2026 | — |
| Company-operated comparable restaurants non-GAAP | 172 | as of July 1, 2026 | — |
| Company-operated restaurants at end of period | 175 | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| Comparable restaurant sales growth | 4.2% | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| Franchise comparable restaurant sales non-GAAP | 4.5% | the second quarter of 2026 | — |
| Franchise-operated comparable restaurants non-GAAP | 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 | — |
| Restaurant contribution margin (%) | 19.4% | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| Restaurants in the comparable base | 172 | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
| System-wide comparable restaurants non-GAAP | 489 | as of July 1, 2026 | — |
| System-wide restaurants at end of period | 511 | Twenty-Six Weeks Ended July 1, 2026 | — |
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.
|
$428.80M | +37.2% | +5.7% | 12.0 | 6.2% |
|
MCD
Mcdonalds Corp
|
$167.36B | -24.4% | +3.7% | 19.2 | 1.7% |
|
SBUX
Starbucks Corp
|
$108.14B | +11.6% | +2.8% | 54.8 | 3.5% |
|
CMG
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc
|
$40.08B | -13.6% | +5.4% | 29.1 | 3.2% |
|
YUM
Yum Brands Inc
|
$38.22B | -9.9% | +8.8% | 17.6 | 3.6% |
Peers by industry group · P/E from as-reported trailing EPS · short % is of shares outstanding
At a glance
key data from every sectionPerformance
| 5D | 20D | 120D | MTD | YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOCO | +0.5% | -4.3% | +2.2% | -6.0% | +37.2% |
| SPY | -0.7% | +0.1% | +12.2% | -0.6% | +11.8% |
| vs SPY | +1.2% | -4.4% | -10.0% | -5.4% | +25.4% |
Capital returns
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.