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Buy Day today: Good (62) Broad market participation · no major macro event
LOCO

El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc

Consumer Cyclical · Restaurants · listed since 2014

14.30$ -1.4% vs. previous close Closing price · As of: Sep 17, 2026
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Price history

Chart

Interactive price chart (TradingView).

52-week range: 9.10 $ to 17.20 $ · Last price: 14.30 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)

Key figures

Key figures at a glance

Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.

Basics

Market Cap ?The value of the entire company on the market: share price times total shares outstanding. 0.4$B
Shares Outstanding ?Total number of shares issued. Price times share count gives market cap. 30m
Float ?Share of stock freely tradable on the market — not locked up in the hands of founders, insiders, or major shareholders. 84.2%
Beta ?Volatility versus the overall market: 1 = moves like the market, 2 = twice as much, under 1 = calmer than the market. 0.7

Performance

Perf. 1M ?Price performance over the last month. 18.50%
Perf. 3M ?Price performance over the last 3 months. 19.70%
Perf. 6M ?Price performance over the last 6 months. 54.10%
YTD Performance (%) ?Price performance since the start of the year (Year to Date). 48.00%
52-Week-High Distance ?How far the price sits below its highest point over the last 52 weeks. 0% means the stock is at its year high. -1.0%
Perf. 1Y ?Price performance over the last 12 months. 44.21%
Perf. 3Y ?Price performance over the last 3 years. 57.88%
Perf. 5Y ?Price performance over the last 5 years. -4.87%
Perf. 10Y ?Price performance over the last 10 years. 25.45%
Perf. Since Inception ?Price performance since the first available trading day (07/25/2014) — with a complete history, that is since the IPO. -31.19%

Technical Indicators

MA 38 Days ?Moving average of the last 38 trading days: the smoothed price path. A price above it signals short-term strength. 15.50$
MA 50 Days ?Moving average of the last 50 trading days — the most widely watched medium-term trend line. 15.70$
MA 200 Days ?Moving average of the last 200 trading days — the dividing line between a long-term uptrend and downtrend. 13.50$
RSI (14) ?Relative Strength Index over 14 days, scale 0 to 100: above 70 counts as overbought, below 30 as oversold. A hint on timing, not a verdict on the company. 35.1
Volatility 30 Days ?Price swings over the last 30 trading days, annualized. The higher the value, the more the price fluctuates. 37.6%
Volatility 250 Days ?Price swings over the last 250 trading days (roughly one market year), annualized. 36.5%

Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026

Valuation

P/E ?Price-to-earnings ratio: how many years of profit does the stock cost? The lower, the cheaper the valuation. No earnings means no P/E. 15.0
Forward P/E ?P/E based on expected earnings for the next 12 months instead of past earnings — analysts' bet on the future. 14.0
PEG ?P/E divided by expected earnings growth: puts valuation in relation to growth. Around 1 is considered fair, well above that is pricey. 1.2
P/B ?Price-to-book ratio: market value relative to book equity. 1.5
P/S ?Price-to-sales ratio: market value divided by annual sales. Important for companies that aren't (yet) profitable. 0.9
EV/EBITDA ?Enterprise value including debt (EV) relative to operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — more comparable than P/E because debt counts too. Extreme values arise when EBITDA is near zero. 9.6
Price/FCF ?Market value divided by free cash flow: how many years of freely available cash does the stock cost? More honest than P/E because cash flow is harder to dress up. 10.6

Profitability

Gross Margin ?Gross margin: what's left of sales after only direct production costs are deducted — the product's pricing power. 23.1%
EBIT Margin ?EBIT margin: operating profit as a percentage of sales — the earning power of the core business before interest and taxes. –
Net Margin ?Net margin: what's left of sales as profit after ALL costs, interest, and taxes. 7.0%
Return on Equity ?Return on equity: how much profit does the company generate per year on shareholders' equity? 10.3%
Return on Assets ?Return on assets: how much profit the company generates from its total assets (equity and debt combined). 5.1%

Balance Sheet & Safety

Equity Ratio ?Equity ratio: equity as a share of total assets. The higher, the more resilient the balance sheet. –
Debt/Equity ?Leverage ratio: financial debt divided by equity. Under 1 is generally seen as solid; negative values mean negative equity. 0.8
Altman Z″ ?Edward Altman's bankruptcy early-warning score. We use the Z″ variant, built from four balance-sheet ratios — it is designed for service companies and non-manufacturers and uses book value instead of market value. On that scale: below 1.1 = danger zone, 2.6 and up = safe zone, in between a grey area. Because the classic Altman Z is calculated differently, the two numbers are not directly comparable. The formula does not fit banks, insurers, or real-estate stocks. 4.53
Piotroski ?Balance-sheet health check by Joseph Piotroski: 9 yes/no criteria on profit, cash flow, leverage, and efficiency. 7+ is very solid, under 3 is a red flag. very solid 8 out of 9

Growth

Sales Growth Last Quarter ?Sales growth in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY). 5.90%
EPS Growth Last Quarter ?Growth in earnings per share in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY). 43.30%
Sales Growth (Year) ?Sales growth in the last fiscal year versus the year before. 3.60%
Forward Sales Growth ?Sales growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee. 4.06%
Forward EPS Growth ?Earnings-per-share growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee. 11.50%

Dividend

This stock currently pays no dividend.

Quality & Screener

Stage ?Weinstein phases 1 through 4: 1 = basing, 2 = uptrend (the only buy phase), 3 = topping, 4 = downtrend. Measured against the 30-week line. 2
RS Rating ?Relative strength from 1 to 99: an RS of 95 means the stock has outperformed 95% of all stocks. 74
EPS Rating ?Earnings growth rating from 1 to 99 versus all stocks — high values mean above-average earnings growth. 75
Fundamental Rating ?Our own Fundamental Rating: 0 to 100 points with an A+ to F grade. 50 points is the average across the universe, 100 the best possible score. It scores growth, earnings surprises, analyst estimates, margins, cash flow, and balance-sheet safety — every stock percentile-ranked against all others. Grades: A+ from 95, A from 75, B from 55, C from 45, D from 25, E from 5, F below. B (63 out of 100)

Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.

Comparison

Industry comparison

The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.

Industry: Restaurants

Industry comparison
Company Market cap ($B) P/E EV/EBITDA Gross Margin % EBIT Margin % Sales Growth (Year) % Perf. 1Y %
El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc LOCO 0.4 15.0 9.6 23.1 – 3.6 44.2
McDonald’s Corporation MCD 176.6 21.4 15.4 57.4 44.3 3.7 -16.4
Starbucks Corporation SBUX 110.2 75.7 24.8 22.3 8.4 2.8 19.1
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc CMG 43.0 30.7 22.5 39.4 13.3 5.4 -14.3
Yum! Brands Inc YUM 37.2 23.2 17.5 45.3 31.1 8.8 -5.0
Restaurant Brands International Inc. QSR 33.2 23.9 14.5 34.1 25.9 12.2 19.0
Darden Restaurants Inc DRI 23.9 20.8 14.4 21.7 14.3 6.0 2.2
Yum China Holdings Inc YUMC 14.2 15.2 8.4 20.3 11.5 4.4 -4.9
Texas Roadhouse Inc TXRH 11.0 28.0 18.1 16.3 9.0 9.4 3.2
Median of companies shown 33.2 23.2 15.4 23.1 13.8 5.4 2.2

Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →

Fiscal years

Annual Figures

Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.

Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M

Revenue Operating income Net income

2016 · Revenue: 380 $M 2016 · Operating income: 35 $M 2016 · Net income: 18 $M 2017 · Revenue: 402 $M 2017 · Operating income: 7 $M 2017 · Net income: 9 $M 2018 · Revenue: 436 $M 2018 · Operating income: -9 $M 2018 · Net income: -9 $M 2019 · Revenue: 442 $M 2019 · Operating income: 38 $M 2019 · Net income: 25 $M 2020 · Revenue: 426 $M 2020 · Operating income: 34 $M 2020 · Net income: 24 $M 2021 · Revenue: 454 $M 2021 · Operating income: 41 $M 2021 · Net income: 29 $M 2022 · Revenue: 470 $M 2022 · Operating income: 30 $M 2022 · Net income: 21 $M 2023 · Revenue: 469 $M 2023 · Operating income: 40 $M 2023 · Net income: 26 $M 2024 · Revenue: 473 $M 2024 · Operating income: 41 $M 2024 · Net income: 26 $M 2025 · Revenue: 490 $M 2025 · Operating income: 42 $M 2025 · Net income: 26 $M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Annual Figures
Fiscal Year Revenue ($M) EBIT ($M) Net Income ($M) EPS ($) Operating Cash Flow ($M) Equity ($M) Total Assets ($M)
2016 380 35 18 0.47 49 265 471
2017 402 7 9 0.22 54 275 443
2018 436 -9 -9 -0.23 45 265 450
2019 442 38 25 0.67 36 246 625
2020 426 34 24 0.68 41 278 605
2021 454 41 29 0.80 52 311 614
2022 470 30 21 0.57 39 281 597
2023 469 40 26 0.74 41 251 592
2024 473 41 26 0.86 47 261 592
2025 490 42 26 0.90 48 291 607

Quarters

Quarterly Figures

Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.

Revenue & Profit

Cash Flow

Balance Sheet

Margins

Per Share

Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.

None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.

These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.

The figures could not be loaded right now.

Sales Per Quarter ($M)
2024: Q4 · 114.3 $M Q4 2025: Q1 · 119.2 $M Q1 2025: Q2 · 125.8 $M Q2 2025: Q3 · 121.5 $M Q3 2025: Q4 · 123.5 $M Q4 2026: Q1 · 126.2 $M Q1 2026: Q2 · 129.6 $M Q2

Source: fundamental data

Quarterly Figures
Quarter EPS (Earnings Per Share) EPS YoY (%) Sales ($M) Sales YoY (%) Net Margin (%) OCF ($M) FCF ($M)
2024: Q4 0.20 48.80 114 1.80 5.20 6 1
2025: Q1 0.19 -2.20 119 2.60 4.60 5 1
2025: Q2 0.24 -3.40 126 3.00 5.60 14 9
2025: Q3 0.25 19.00 122 0.90 6.10 15 10
2025: Q4 0.22 9.70 124 8.10 5.30 14 5
2026: Q1 0.27 47.10 126 5.90 6.50 13 3
2026: Q2 0.43 79.20 130 3.00 9.90 32 23

What Do These Terms Mean?

EPS (Earnings Per Share):
Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
YoY (Year over Year):
Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
Sales:
All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
Net Margin:
What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
FCF (Free Cash Flow):
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.

Compare with other stocks →

Screening

Appears in These Scanners

This stock currently matches 11 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.

Growth

Quality & Balance Sheet

Momentum & Trend

Value & GARP

Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners

Outlook

Analysts & Price Target

Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.

Consensus Sell 1 = Strong buy … 5 = Strong sell
Analyst Ratings 5
Price Target (average) 20.30$
Distance to price 42.0% The price target sits 42.0% above the current price.

Distribution of Recommendations

Strong Buy 2
Buy 0
Hold 3
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0

Estimates by Fiscal Year

Estimates by Fiscal Year
Fiscal Year EPS Estimate ($) EPS Range ($) Revenue Estimate ($M) Expected Growth Analysts
12/31/2026 1.03 0.95 – 1.18 504 4.8% 6
12/31/2027 1.11 1.03 – 1.15 525 7.8% 6

Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.

Valuation

What is priced in?

Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.

Today’s market value implies roughly -1.0% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).

What is priced in?
Free cash flow (last twelve months) $41.0M
Market cap $435.0M
Free cash flow in year ten $37.0M
Terminal value as a share of market value 44.8%

For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow shrank by 5.6% per year.

It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.

A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.

AI classification

AI Rating

Not yet rated — we only show a category once an SEC-backed file with at least two cited passages is available.

How the Rating Is Built

Growth

Growth Score

Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.

4 of 10 Weak growth
  • Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 1.4%
  • More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 4.1%
  • Share count grows by less than 3% a year -6.9%
  • Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 8.8%
  • Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 28.6%
  • Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 41.0%
  • Net debt below twice EBITDA 4.0 x EBITDA
  • Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 58 m
  • Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 8.1%
  • Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 2.6%

A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail

Quality check

AAQS

2/10

The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).

  • Sales growth 10Y > 5% 2.9%
  • Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 3.5%
  • EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 2.3%
  • Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 11.0%
  • Net debt < 4x EBIT 5.5x
  • EBIT positive, 10Y straight 9
  • Max. EBIT decline < 50% 100.0%
  • Return on equity > 15% –
  • ROCE > 15% 8.0%
  • Expected return > 10% 17.5%

View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien

Source: fundamental data

Insiders

Insider Transactions

Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.

Insider Transactions
Date Person Role Type Shares Price Value
Aug 23, 2026 Fils Ira CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Other 7,213 16.03 115,624
Aug 7, 2026 Biglari, Sardar 10% Owner Sell 550 17.06 9,383
Aug 5, 2026 Biglari, Sardar 10% Owner Sell 40,000 16.90 676,000
Aug 3, 2026 Biglari, Sardar 10% Owner Sell 10,000 16.73 167,300
Jul 30, 2026 Biglari, Sardar 10% Owner Sell 273 16.70 4,559
Jul 29, 2026 Biglari, Sardar 10% Owner Sell 3,305 16.71 55,227
Jul 29, 2026 Biglari, Sardar 10% Owner Sell 3,306 16.71 55,243
Jul 17, 2026 Biglari, Sardar 10% Owner Sell 11,000 16.71 183,810
Jul 16, 2026 Biglari, Sardar 10% Owner Sell 2,749 16.70 45,908
Jul 15, 2026 Biglari, Sardar 10% Owner Sell 6,533 16.71 109,166

View all insider transactions →

The company

About the Company

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. über seine Tochtergesellschaft El Pollo Loco, Inc.

Employees
4,000
Headquarters
Costa Mesa, CA
Address
575 Anton Blvd., 92626 Costa Mesa, United States
Phone
714 599 5000
IPO Date
07/25/2014
ISIN
US2686031079

Management

Management
Name Title Birth Year
Elizabeth Goodwin Williams CEO & Director 1976
Ira M. Fils Chief Financial Officer 1965
Clark Matthews Chief Information Officer –
Jason Weintraub Chief Legal & People Officer –
Jill Adams Chief Marketing Officer –
Tim Welsh Chief Development Officer –

Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.

Filings

Company Filings (8-K)

An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

  • 08/06/2026 El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗

Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)

Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.

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