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El Pollo Loco Ho Financials

LOCO
Source SEC Filings (10-K/10-Q) Updated Dec 31, 2025 Currency USD FYE December

This page shows El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) financial statements, including the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and key financial ratios. View 14 years of annual fundamentals and quarterly data, with year-over-year growth rates and compound annual growth rates (CAGR). All figures are derived from SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q reports).

Financial Health Signals

Profitability Growth Leverage Liquidity Cash Flow Returns 41 / 100
Financial Profile 41/100

Based on FY2025 annual data. Scores normalized against common benchmarks. How we calculate these scores

Profitability
41

El Pollo Loco Ho has an operating margin of 8.6%, meaning the company retains $9 of operating profit per $100 of revenue. This results in a moderate score of 41/100, indicating healthy but not exceptional operating efficiency. This is down from 8.7% the prior year.

Growth
39

El Pollo Loco Ho's revenue grew a modest 3.6% year-over-year to $490.0M. This slow but positive growth earns a score of 39/100.

Leverage
98

El Pollo Loco Ho carries a low D/E ratio of 0.18, meaning only $0.18 of long-term debt for every $1 of shareholders' equity. This conservative leverage earns a score of 98/100, indicating a strong balance sheet with room for future borrowing.

Liquidity
1

El Pollo Loco Ho's current ratio of 0.32 means current assets barely cover short-term liabilities. This tight liquidity results in a low score of 1/100, which could limit financial flexibility.

Cash Flow
38

El Pollo Loco Ho has a free cash flow margin of 5.2%, earning a moderate score of 38/100. The company generates positive cash flow after capital investments, but with room for improvement.

Returns
31

El Pollo Loco Ho's ROE of 9.1% shows moderate profitability relative to equity, earning a score of 31/100. This is down from 9.8% the prior year.

Altman Z-Score Grey Zone
1.82

El Pollo Loco Ho scores 1.82, placing it in the grey zone between 1.81 and 2.99. This signals moderate financial risk that warrants monitoring.

Piotroski F-Score Strong
7/9

El Pollo Loco Ho passes 7 of 9 financial strength tests. All 4 profitability signals pass (positive income, cash flow, and earnings quality), 2 of 3 leverage/liquidity signals pass, both operating efficiency signals pass.

Earnings Quality Cash-Backed
1.82x

For every $1 of reported earnings, El Pollo Loco Ho generates $1.82 in operating cash flow ($48.1M OCF vs $26.5M net income). This indicates profits are well-supported by actual cash generation, not accounting adjustments.

Interest Coverage Safe
9.4x

El Pollo Loco Ho earns $9.4 in operating income for every $1 of interest expense ($42.0M vs $4.5M). This wide margin provides strong safety for debt servicing, even if earnings decline temporarily.

Key Financial Metrics

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Earnings & Revenue

Revenue
$490.0M
YoY+3.6%
5Y CAGR+2.8%
10Y CAGR+3.3%

El Pollo Loco Ho generated $490.0M in revenue in fiscal year 2025. This represents an increase of 3.6% from the prior year.

EBITDA
$58.0M
YoY+2.0%
5Y CAGR+2.8%
10Y CAGR-0.6%

El Pollo Loco Ho's EBITDA was $58.0M in fiscal year 2025, measuring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This represents an increase of 2.0% from the prior year.

Net Income
$26.5M
YoY+3.1%
5Y CAGR+1.6%
10Y CAGR+1.0%

El Pollo Loco Ho reported $26.5M in net income in fiscal year 2025. This represents an increase of 3.1% from the prior year.

EPS (Diluted)
$0.90
YoY+4.7%
5Y CAGR+5.8%
10Y CAGR+3.8%

El Pollo Loco Ho earned $0.90 per diluted share (EPS) in fiscal year 2025. This represents an increase of 4.7% from the prior year.

Cash & Balance Sheet

Free Cash Flow
$25.4M
YoY-8.2%
5Y CAGR-5.6%
10Y CAGR-0.6%

El Pollo Loco Ho generated $25.4M in free cash flow in fiscal year 2025, representing cash available after capex. This represents a decrease of 8.2% from the prior year.

Cash & Debt
$6.2M
YoY+150.7%
5Y CAGR-14.0%
10Y CAGR+0.2%

El Pollo Loco Ho held $6.2M in cash against $51.0M in long-term debt as of fiscal year 2025.

Dividends Per Share
N/A
Shares Outstanding
30M
YoY+0.4%
5Y CAGR-3.8%
10Y CAGR-2.4%

El Pollo Loco Ho had 30M shares outstanding in fiscal year 2025. This represents an increase of 0.4% from the prior year.

Margins & Returns

Gross Margin
N/A
Operating Margin
8.6%
YoY-0.1pp
5Y CAGR+0.7pp
10Y CAGR-5.2pp

El Pollo Loco Ho's operating margin was 8.6% in fiscal year 2025, reflecting core business profitability. This is down 0.1 percentage points from the prior year.

Net Margin
5.4%
YoY-0.0pp
5Y CAGR-0.3pp
10Y CAGR-1.4pp

El Pollo Loco Ho's net profit margin was 5.4% in fiscal year 2025, showing the share of revenue converted to profit. This is down 0.0 percentage points from the prior year.

Return on Equity
9.1%
YoY-0.8pp
5Y CAGR+0.3pp
10Y CAGR-0.7pp

El Pollo Loco Ho's ROE was 9.1% in fiscal year 2025, measuring profit generated per dollar of shareholder equity. This is down 0.8 percentage points from the prior year.

Capital Allocation

R&D Spending
N/A
Share Buybacks
$1.8M
YoY-91.0%

El Pollo Loco Ho spent $1.8M on share buybacks in fiscal year 2025, returning capital to shareholders by reducing shares outstanding. This represents a decrease of 91.0% from the prior year.

Capital Expenditures
$22.6M
YoY+18.6%
5Y CAGR+27.6%
10Y CAGR-3.0%

El Pollo Loco Ho invested $22.6M in capex in fiscal year 2025, funding long-term assets and infrastructure. This represents an increase of 18.6% from the prior year.

LOCO Income Statement

Metric Q4'25 Q3'25 Q2'25 Q1'25 Q4'24 Q3'24 Q2'24 Q1'24
Revenue $123.5M+1.6% $121.5M-3.4% $125.8M+5.6% $119.2M+4.3% $114.3M-5.1% $120.4M-1.5% $122.2M+5.2% $116.2M
Cost of Revenue N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Gross Profit N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
R&D Expenses N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
SG&A Expenses $13.1M+6.3% $12.3M-8.8% $13.5M+20.1% $11.3M+1.1% $11.1M-2.4% $11.4M-3.1% $11.8M-1.2% $11.9M
Operating Income $10.3M-10.0% $11.5M+1.4% $11.3M+26.0% $9.0M-0.7% $9.0M-10.9% $10.1M-17.7% $12.3M+27.3% $9.7M
Interest Expense $965K-14.0% $1.1M-7.0% $1.2M+2.6% $1.2M-7.5% $1.3M-17.2% $1.5M+0.6% $1.5M-2.4% $1.6M
Income Tax $2.8M-5.8% $3.0M-0.4% $3.0M+29.2% $2.3M+26.6% $1.8M-24.3% $2.4M-23.5% $3.2M+43.3% $2.2M
Net Income $6.5M-11.1% $7.4M+3.5% $7.1M+29.7% $5.5M-7.9% $6.0M-3.8% $6.2M-19.0% $7.6M+29.1% $5.9M
EPS (Diluted) N/A $0.25+4.2% $0.24+26.3% $0.19 N/A $0.21-16.0% $0.25+31.6% $0.19

LOCO Balance Sheet

Metric Q4'25 Q3'25 Q2'25 Q1'25 Q4'24 Q3'24 Q2'24 Q1'24
Total Assets $606.6M+0.6% $602.7M+1.0% $596.8M+1.1% $590.5M-0.3% $592.0M+0.3% $590.0M-0.7% $593.8M-0.7% $598.0M
Current Assets $25.6M-10.0% $28.5M+6.1% $26.8M+12.5% $23.8M+19.8% $19.9M-15.3% $23.5M-9.7% $26.0M-3.1% $26.8M
Cash & Equivalents $6.2M-42.7% $10.9M+20.9% $9.0M+107.9% $4.3M+74.0% $2.5M-68.5% $7.9M-24.6% $10.5M+14.7% $9.1M
Inventory $1.8M+4.3% $1.7M+0.5% $1.7M-6.6% $1.9M-4.5% $1.9M+4.7% $1.9M+6.2% $1.7M+0.4% $1.7M
Accounts Receivable N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Goodwill $248.7M0.0% $248.7M0.0% $248.7M0.0% $248.7M0.0% $248.7M0.0% $248.7M0.0% $248.7M0.0% $248.7M
Total Liabilities $315.6M-1.3% $319.8M-0.9% $322.6M-0.7% $324.8M-2.0% $331.3M-1.0% $334.8M-3.0% $345.3M+1.0% $341.7M
Current Liabilities $79.1M+13.2% $69.8M-9.0% $76.8M+2.6% $74.8M-1.1% $75.7M+0.1% $75.6M+0.9% $74.9M-0.4% $75.2M
Long-Term Debt $51.0M-16.4% $61.0M-11.6% $69.0M-5.5% $73.0M+2.8% $71.0M-6.6% $76.0M-12.6% $87.0M+8.8% $80.0M
Total Equity $291.1M+2.9% $282.9M+3.2% $274.2M+3.2% $265.7M+1.9% $260.7M+2.1% $255.2M+2.7% $248.6M-3.0% $256.3M
Retained Earnings $43.6M+17.7% $37.0M+24.8% $29.7M+31.4% $22.6M+19.4% $18.9M-43.9% $33.7M+22.5% $27.5M+38.4% $19.9M

LOCO Cash Flow Statement

Metric Q4'25 Q3'25 Q2'25 Q1'25 Q4'24 Q3'24 Q2'24 Q1'24
Operating Cash Flow $13.9M-9.0% $15.3M+8.2% $14.1M+198.6% $4.7M-16.0% $5.6M-56.8% $13.0M-23.2% $17.0M+51.9% $11.2M
Capital Expenditures $8.8M+63.9% $5.4M+6.9% $5.0M+48.7% $3.4M-24.7% $4.5M+15.7% $3.9M-40.4% $6.5M+56.8% $4.2M
Free Cash Flow $5.1M-48.7% $9.9M+8.9% $9.1M+576.0% $1.3M+18.9% $1.1M-87.6% $9.1M-12.4% $10.4M+49.0% $7.0M
Investing Cash Flow -$8.8M-63.9% -$5.4M-6.9% -$5.0M-48.7% -$3.4M+24.7% -$4.5M-15.7% -$3.9M+39.4% -$6.4M-55.9% -$4.1M
Financing Cash Flow -$9.7M-21.2% -$8.0M-81.1% -$4.4M-999.2% $493K+107.5% -$6.5M+44.1% -$11.7M-27.5% -$9.2M-76.3% -$5.2M
Dividends Paid N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Share Buybacks -$1K $0-100.0% $68K-96.2% $1.8M+40.6% $1.3M+15.8% $1.1M-93.6% $17.0M+1367.8% $1.2M

LOCO Financial Ratios

Metric Q4'25 Q3'25 Q2'25 Q1'25 Q4'24 Q3'24 Q2'24 Q1'24
Gross Margin N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Operating Margin 8.3%-1.1pp 9.4%+0.4pp 9.0%+1.4pp 7.5%-0.4pp 7.9%-0.5pp 8.4%-1.7pp 10.1%+1.8pp 8.3%
Net Margin 5.3%-0.8pp 6.0%+0.4pp 5.7%+1.1pp 4.6%-0.6pp 5.2%+0.1pp 5.1%-1.1pp 6.3%+1.2pp 5.1%
Return on Equity 2.3%-0.3pp 2.6%0.0pp 2.6%+0.5pp 2.1%-0.2pp 2.3%-0.1pp 2.4%-0.7pp 3.1%+0.8pp 2.3%
Return on Assets 1.1%-0.1pp 1.2%+0.0pp 1.2%+0.3pp 0.9%-0.1pp 1.0%-0.0pp 1.1%-0.2pp 1.3%+0.3pp 1.0%
Current Ratio 0.32-0.1 0.41+0.1 0.35+0.0 0.32+0.1 0.26-0.0 0.31-0.0 0.350.0 0.36
Debt-to-Equity 0.18-0.0 0.22-0.0 0.25-0.0 0.270.0 0.27-0.0 0.30-0.1 0.35+0.0 0.31
FCF Margin 4.1%-4.0pp 8.2%+0.9pp 7.2%+6.1pp 1.1%+0.1pp 1.0%-6.6pp 7.6%-1.0pp 8.5%+2.5pp 6.0%

Note: The current ratio is below 1.0 (0.32), indicating current liabilities exceed current assets, which may suggest potential short-term liquidity concerns.

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Frequently Asked Questions

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) reported $490.0M in total revenue for fiscal year 2025. This represents a 3.6% change compared to the previous fiscal year. Revenue measures the total income earned from the company's primary business operations before any expenses are deducted.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) revenue grew by 3.6% year-over-year, from $473.0M to $490.0M in fiscal year 2025.

Yes, El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) reported a net income of $26.5M in fiscal year 2025, with a net profit margin of 5.4%.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) reported diluted earnings per share of $0.90 for fiscal year 2025. This represents a 4.7% change compared to the previous fiscal year. EPS represents the portion of a company's net income allocated to each outstanding share of common stock and is widely used to evaluate profitability on a per-share basis.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) had EBITDA of $58.0M in fiscal year 2025, measuring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

As of fiscal year 2025, El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) had $6.2M in cash and equivalents against $51.0M in long-term debt.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) had an operating margin of 8.6% in fiscal year 2025, reflecting the profitability of core business operations before interest and taxes.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) had a net profit margin of 5.4% in fiscal year 2025, representing the share of revenue converted into profit after all expenses.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) has a return on equity of 9.1% for fiscal year 2025, measuring how efficiently the company generates profit from shareholder equity.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) generated $25.4M in free cash flow during fiscal year 2025. This represents a -8.2% change compared to the previous fiscal year. Free cash flow represents the cash a company generates after accounting for capital expenditures, and is widely used to assess financial flexibility and shareholder value.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) generated $48.1M in operating cash flow during fiscal year 2025, representing cash generated from core business activities.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) had $606.6M in total assets as of fiscal year 2025, including both current and long-term assets.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) invested $22.6M in capital expenditures during fiscal year 2025, funding long-term assets and infrastructure.

Yes, El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) spent $1.8M on share buybacks during fiscal year 2025, returning capital to shareholders by reducing shares outstanding.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) had 30M shares outstanding as of fiscal year 2025.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) had a current ratio of 0.32 as of fiscal year 2025, which is below 1.0, which may suggest potential liquidity concerns.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) had a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18 as of fiscal year 2025, measuring the company's financial leverage by comparing total debt to shareholder equity.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) had a return on assets of 4.4% for fiscal year 2025, measuring how efficiently the company uses its assets to generate profit.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) has an Altman Z-Score of 1.82, placing it in the Grey Zone (moderate risk). The Z-Score combines five financial ratios—working capital, retained earnings, EBIT, market capitalization, and revenue relative to total assets—to predict the likelihood of bankruptcy. Scores above 2.99 indicate financial safety while scores below 1.81 suggest financial distress. Learn more in our complete guide to financial health indicators.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) has a Piotroski F-Score of 7 out of 9, indicating strong financial health. The F-Score evaluates nine binary signals across profitability (positive ROA, positive cash flow, improving ROA, earnings quality), leverage (decreasing debt, improving liquidity, no share dilution), and operating efficiency (improving gross margin, improving asset turnover). Scores of 7–9 indicate strong and improving fundamentals. Learn more in our complete guide to financial health indicators.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) has an earnings quality ratio of 1.82x, considered cash-backed (high quality). This ratio compares operating cash flow to net income. A ratio above 1.0x means the company generates more cash than its reported earnings, indicating sustainable, cash-backed profits. Ratios below 1.0x suggest earnings rely on accounting accruals rather than actual cash generation. Learn more in our complete guide to financial health indicators.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) has an interest coverage ratio of 9.4x, meaning it can comfortably cover its interest obligations. This ratio divides operating income by interest expense. Ratios above 5x indicate strong debt-servicing ability, while ratios below 2x suggest the company may face difficulty meeting interest payments if earnings decline. Learn more in our complete guide to financial health indicators.

El Pollo Loco Ho (LOCO) scores 41 out of 100 on our Financial Profile, indicating moderate overall financial health. This composite score evaluates six dimensions: profitability (operating margin), revenue growth, leverage (debt-to-equity), liquidity (current ratio), cash flow quality (free cash flow margin), and shareholder returns (return on equity). Each dimension is normalized against standard financial benchmarks. Learn more in our complete guide to financial health indicators.

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