El Pollo Loco's Q4 revenue, profit beat expectations

Overview

• U.S. fire-grilled chicken chain's Q4 revenue rose, slightly beating analyst expectations

• Adjusted EPS for Q4 rose 25% YoY, beating estimates

• Restaurant-level margin improved due to operating efficiencies and higher menu prices

Outlook

• El Pollo Loco expects 2026 system-wide comparable restaurant sales growth of 1% to 3%

• Company plans to open 3-4 company-operated and 15-16 franchised restaurants in 2026

• El Pollo Loco expects 2026 adjusted EBITDA between $66 mln and $68 mln

Result Drivers

• ADDITIONAL OPERATING WEEK - Q4 revenue included $5.3 mln from an extra week compared to the prior year

• AVERAGE CHECK GROWTH - Company-operated comparable sales rose 0.4%, as a 2.7% increase in average check size was mostly offset by a 2.3% decline in transactions

• FRANCHISE EXPANSION - Franchise revenue rose due to new store openings, an extra week, and a 3.3% increase in franchise comparable sales

Company press release: ID:nGNX7q4tK8

Key Details

*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 2 "strong buy" or "buy", 4 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the restaurants & bars peer group is "buy"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc is $13.50, about 21.3% above its March 11 closing price of $11.13

• The stock recently traded at 12 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 11 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.