Latest news with #ElPolloLocoHoldings
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Posts Better-Than-Expected Sales In Q1
Fast food chain El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) reported Q1 CY2025 results topping the market's revenue expectations , with sales up 2.6% year on year to $119.2 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.19 per share was in line with analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy El Pollo Loco? Find out in our full research report. Revenue: $119.2 million vs analyst estimates of $118.5 million (2.6% year-on-year growth, 0.6% beat) Adjusted EPS: $0.19 vs analyst estimates of $0.19 (in line) Adjusted EBITDA: $13.93 million vs analyst estimates of $13.71 million (11.7% margin, 1.6% beat) Operating Margin: 7.5%, in line with the same quarter last year Locations: 499 at quarter end, up from 495 in the same quarter last year Same-Store Sales were flat year on year (5.1% in the same quarter last year) Market Capitalization: $281 million Liz Williams, Chief Executive Officer of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., stated, 'Our first quarter results fell short of our expectations on sales and store level profit. Despite the challenges we faced with the dynamic consumer environment, we delivered proof points that reinforce our belief in the brand's long-term opportunity. From showing that menu innovation can drive trial of the brand through the launch of Mango Habanero, to identifying opportunities to further improve operational execution in our restaurants, we are proud of our accomplishments and believe we still have tremendous upside. Looking ahead, our focus remains squarely on executing the multitude of initiatives that we have in place to drive our brand forward.' With a name that translates into 'The Crazy Chicken', El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) is a fast food chain known for its citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken recipe that hails from the coastal town of Sinaloa, Mexico. Reviewing a company's long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. With $476 million in revenue over the past 12 months, El Pollo Loco is a small restaurant chain, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better brand awareness and economies of scale. As you can see below, El Pollo Loco grew its sales at a weak 1.4% compounded annual growth rate over the last six years (we compare to 2019 to normalize for COVID-19 impacts) as it barely increased sales at existing, established dining locations. This quarter, El Pollo Loco reported modest year-on-year revenue growth of 2.6% but beat Wall Street's estimates by 0.6%. Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 4.7% over the next 12 months. Although this projection suggests its newer menu offerings will spur better top-line performance, it is still below the sector average. Software is eating the world and there is virtually no industry left that has been untouched by it. That drives increasing demand for tools helping software developers do their jobs, whether it be monitoring critical cloud infrastructure, integrating audio and video functionality, or ensuring smooth content streaming. Click here to access a free report on our 3 favorite stocks to play this generational megatrend. A restaurant chain's total number of dining locations often determines how much revenue it can generate. El Pollo Loco sported 499 locations in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, it has generally opened new restaurants, averaging 1% annual growth. This was faster than the broader restaurant sector. When a chain opens new restaurants, it usually means it's investing for growth because there's healthy demand for its meals and there are markets where its concepts have few or no locations. A company's restaurant base only paints one part of the picture. When demand is high, it makes sense to open more. But when demand is low, it's prudent to close some locations and use the money in other ways. Same-store sales gives us insight into this topic because it measures organic growth at restaurants open for at least a year. El Pollo Loco's demand within its existing dining locations has been relatively stable over the last two years but was below most restaurant chains. On average, the company's same-store sales have grown by 1.3% per year. This performance suggests it should consider improving its foot traffic and efficiency before expanding its restaurant base. In the latest quarter, El Pollo Loco's year on year same-store sales were flat. This was a meaningful deceleration from its historical levels. We'll be watching closely to see if El Pollo Loco can reaccelerate growth. It was encouraging to see El Pollo Loco beat analysts' revenue and EBITDA expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its same-store sales slightly missed. Zooming out, we think this was a decent quarter featuring some areas of strength but also some blemishes. The stock remained flat at $9.50 immediately after reporting. Should you buy the stock or not? We think that the latest quarter is just one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it's free. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Investors in El Pollo Loco Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) have seen returns of 14% over the past year
While El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 17% in the last quarter. But looking back over the last year, the returns have actually been rather pleasing! In that time we've seen the stock easily surpass the market return, with a gain of 14%. Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. During the last year El Pollo Loco Holdings grew its earnings per share (EPS) by 15%. We note that the earnings per share growth isn't far from the share price growth (of 14%). This makes us think the market hasn't really changed its sentiment around the company, in the last year. It looks like the share price is responding to the EPS. The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image). We know that El Pollo Loco Holdings has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue forecasts. We're pleased to report that El Pollo Loco Holdings shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 14% over one year. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 0.2%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling. Of course El Pollo Loco Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) Is Among the Top Restaurant Stocks to Buy Under $20
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) stands against other top restaurant stocks to buy under $20. Restaurant stocks are showing volatility amid Trump's tariff impositions across various sectors. On April 7, CNBC reported that while US stocks are tumbling due to the effects of high tariffs on the import of goods from key trading partners, analysts do not anticipate the tariffs to hit most restaurant stocks directly. However, inflation is expected to follow behind, fueled by expert and investor fear of an impending recession. This may put pressure on the spending capacity of consumers, resulting in an economic downturn. CNBC reported that UBS analyst Dennis Geiger said the following in a note to clients: 'We view the direct cost impact of tariffs on restaurants as manageable, with a focus on select commodity costs, but see the bigger risk as incremental pressure on consumer spending and industry demand.' CNBC also reported that investor concerns affected restaurant stocks across all sectors. Fast food restaurant chains have historically shown the most resilience during recessions, as consumers looking for cheap dining options typically level down from fast-casual or full-service diners and eateries to fast food options. However, the drop in consumer spending witnessed last year saw fast food restaurants hit hard, as low-income consumers cut their spending to this sector, visiting them less frequently. High-income consumers, on the other hand, continued with their usual dining habits, creating a gap that negatively affected fast food companies. Quick-service restaurants thus underwent same-store sales declines. On March 8, Mario Carbone, Major Food Group chef and co-founder, appeared on CNBC's 'Power Lunch' to discuss the effects of Trump's tariffs on the food industry and how high-end consumers are behaving in the sector. Talking about New York, he said that the numbers are booming, going above their pre-Covid benchmarks. New York is thus telling us that everything is good, and there is no fear right now in dining in the luxury sector. Stats are up, and restaurants are packed, with consumer energy through the roof. As of right now, there are no signs of slowing at all if one evaluates the spending and trends in restaurant reports. However, Carbone said that inflation hits the food and restaurant industry just like everyone else. The luxury food sector is responsible to the customer for bringing in the best ingredients for every meal, which is why it has no choice but to pass the effects on to the consumer in case such trends materialize. We sifted through stock screeners, financial media reports, and ETFs to compile a list of 20 restaurant stocks under $20 as of April 13, 2025, and chose the top 10 most popular among hedge funds as of Q4 2024. The list is ordered in ascending order of hedge fund sentiment. We sourced the hedge fund sentiment data from Insider Monkey's database. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A worker preparing freshly-baked food in the back of a restaurant at a franchise location. Share Price: $9.55 Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18 El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) develops, franchises, and licenses quick-service restaurants under the name El Pollo Loco. It specializes in fire-grilling fresh chicken and offers various popular food options, such as Pollo Bowls, Pollo Fit entrees, and more. In a report released on April 8, Jeremy Hamblin from Craig-Hallum maintained a Buy rating on El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO). Craig-Hallum analyst Jeremy Hamblin also initiated company coverage on March 11 and set a Buy rating with an $18 price target. The analyst said that the company's new management team holds extensive QSR experience and is thus revitalizing the brand, driving record AUVs and around 200 bps of margin expansion in fiscal year 2024. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) also holds a unique position in the fast-growing chicken sector, and menu innovation in 2025 is expected to be a key driver of growth for the company, according to the firm. The firm sees further rest-level margin expansion to 18% based on food cost and labor initiatives. The lapping of the FAST Act in California will limit future wage pressure. The firm also cited the underpenetrated digital channel as a significant opportunity to drive margin and sales. Overall, LOCO ranks 7th on our list of the top restaurant stocks to buy under $20. While we acknowledge the potential for LOCO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LOCO but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Globe and Mail
16-04-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. to Announce First Quarter 2025 Results on Thursday, May 1, 2025
COSTA MESA, Calif., April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. ('El Pollo Loco') (NASDAQ: LOCO) today announced that it will host a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2025 financial results on Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 4:30 PM Eastern Time. Hosting the call will be Liz Williams, Chief Executive Officer, and Ira Fils, Chief Financial Officer. A press release with first quarter 2025 financial results will be issued that same day, shortly after the market close. The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 201-493-6780. A replay will be available after the call and can be accessed by dialing 412-317-6671; the passcode is 13752366. The replay will be available until Thursday, May 15, 2025. The conference call will also be webcast live from the Company's corporate website at under the 'Events & Presentations' page. An archive of the webcast will be available at the same location on the corporate website shortly after the call has concluded. About El Pollo Loco El Pollo Loco (Nasdaq: LOCO) is the nation's leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant known for its craveable, flavorful, and better-for-you offerings. Our menu features innovative meals with Mexican flavors all made in our restaurants daily using quality ingredients. At El Pollo Loco, inclusivity is at the heart of our culture. Our community of over 4,000 employees reflects our commitment to creating a workplace where everyone has a seat at our table. Since 1980, El Pollo Loco has successfully expanded its presence, operating more than 495 company-owned and franchised restaurants across seven U.S. states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Louisiana, along with eight licensed restaurant locations in the Philippines. For more information or to place an order, visit the Loco Rewards APP or Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or X.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Are El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:LOCO) Mixed Financials Driving The Negative Sentiment?
It is hard to get excited after looking at El Pollo Loco Holdings' (NASDAQ:LOCO) recent performance, when its stock has declined 13% over the past three months. It seems that the market might have completely ignored the positive aspects of the company's fundamentals and decided to weigh-in more on the negative aspects. Long-term fundamentals are usually what drive market outcomes, so it's worth paying close attention. In this article, we decided to focus on El Pollo Loco Holdings' ROE. Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders. Check out our latest analysis for El Pollo Loco Holdings The formula for return on equity is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity So, based on the above formula, the ROE for El Pollo Loco Holdings is: 9.9% = US$26m ÷ US$261m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024). The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.10 in profit. So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company's earnings growth potential. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features. At first glance, El Pollo Loco Holdings' ROE doesn't look very promising. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 15%, the company's ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. As a result, El Pollo Loco Holdings' flat net income growth over the past five years doesn't come as a surprise given its lower ROE. We then compared El Pollo Loco Holdings' net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 32% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning. Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. What is LOCO worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether LOCO is currently mispriced by the market. El Pollo Loco Holdings doesn't pay any regular dividends, which means that it is retaining all of its earnings. This makes us question why the company is retaining so much of its profits and still generating almost no growth? So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds. Overall, we have mixed feelings about El Pollo Loco Holdings. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
