El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. Common Stock (LOCO)

FairStock Score: 57/100 — STEADY

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

As a value investor, I look for a simple business at a sensible price. El Pollo Loco operates and franchises quick-service chicken restaurants, mostly in California and nearby states, with a small international licensing footprint. It is not a wide-moat enterprise; restaurant brands compete on taste, price, convenience, and location, but it has a recognizable regional niche. The filed results show progress: in fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended 2026-07-01, revenue was $129.6 million and net income $12.8 million, or diluted EPS $0.43, versus revenue $125.8 million, net income $7.1 million, and EPS $0.24 in fiscal Q2 2025, the quarter ended 2025-06-25. For FY2025, revenue was $490.0 million, net income $26.5 million, and diluted EPS $0.90, up from FY2024 revenue $473.0 million, net income $25.7 million, and EPS $0.86. That is respectable but not rapid. FairStock labels it a slow grower, with profit growth of 1.6% a year and revenue growth of 2.8% over five years. Financial health is mixed: FairStock's Piotroski F-Score is 9/9 and FCF yield is 8.5%, but its Altman Z-Score is 1.32 and debt-to-equity is 0.69. At the 2026-10-13 close of $15.82, FairStock's P/E is 13.52, P/B 1.52, EV/EBITDA 9.92, and Graham Number $16.55, leaving only a 4.41% margin of safety. FairStock's ROE is 11.79% and ROCE 5.07%, modest for a restaurant. I see a fair, not fat, price.

In plain English: El Pollo Loco runs and franchises fire-grilled chicken restaurants, mostly in the western United States, and licenses its brand in the Philippines. The business looks reasonably steady: sales and profits have grown, the latest quarter showed a big profit increase, and cash generation is solid, though growth over recent years has been slow. At $15.82 on 2026-10-13, the shares look fairly priced rather than clearly cheap or expensive relative to the company’s numbers.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-07-01) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-04-01) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-24) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-25) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-25) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-27)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer