Added to YB: 2026-03-19
Pitch date: 2026-03-17
LOCO [neutral]
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
Author Info
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Company Info
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, El Pollo Loco, Inc., develops, franchises, licenses, and operates quick-service restaurants under the El Pollo Loco name.
Market Cap
$399.0M
Pitch Price
N/A
Price Target
N/A
Dividend
N/A
EV/EBITDA
7.34
P/E
14.80
EV/Sales
1.29
Sector
Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure
Category
growth
LOCO: Initial Work on a Potential Inflection
LOCO (overview): Q4 comps +2.1% (vs -0.8% prior Q) driven by +2.5-2.7% check, traffic flat to negative. Innovation pipeline (Loco Tenders, Crispy Chicken Sandwich) shows promise; channel checks suggest 2-3% SSS upside if scaled. Guiding 18-20 new units (70% ex-CA) vs 9 prior yr; AUVs improving despite geographic shift. Restaurant margins guided 18-18.5% (vs 17.7%). Mix-driven recovery, not traffic-led yet. Worth deeper dive on tender rollout & ex-CA unit economics.
Read full article (8 min)