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El Pollo Loco (LOCO) Tops Q4 EPS by 5c, provides outlook

March 12, 2026 4:24 PM

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO) reported Q4 EPS of $0.25, $0.05 better than the analyst estimate of $0.20. Revenue for the quarter came in at $123.5 million versus the consensus estimate of $122.3 million.

Outlook

The Company is providing the following expectations for 2026:

System-wide comparable restaurant sales growth of 1.0% to 3.0%
The opening of three to four company-operated restaurants and 15 to 16 franchised restaurants.
Capital spending between $37.0 million and $40.0 million.
G&A expense between $52.0 million and $54.0 million, excluding one-time costs.
Adjusted EBITDA1 between $66.0 million and $68.0 million
Estimated effective income tax rate of approximately 29.0% before discrete items.

The company is providing the following expectations for 2027 and 2028:

System-wide comparable restaurant sales growth of low-single-digits.
System-wide restaurant growth of mid-single-digits.
Adjusted EBITDA growth of high-single-digits.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on El Pollo Loco (LOCO) click here.

Categories

Earnings