El Pollo Loco (LOCO) Q3 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates

For the quarter ended September 2025, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) reported revenue of $121.52 million, up 0.9% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.27, compared to $0.21 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $123.51 million, representing a surprise of -1.61%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +17.39%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.23.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how El Pollo Loco performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Stores at the End of Period - Franchise restaurants: 324 compared to the 328 average estimate based on two analysts.
• Comparable restaurant sales - System-wide: -0.8% versus -0.2% estimated by two analysts on average.
• Stores at the End of Period - Total Restaurants: 498 versus the two-analyst average estimate of 502.
• Stores at the End of Period - Company-owned Restaurants: 174 versus the two-analyst average estimate of 175.
• Revenue- Franchise advertising fee revenue: $7.94 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $7.98 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +0.6%.
• Revenue- Franchise revenue: $12.86 million compared to the $12.54 million average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of +13.5% year over year.
• Revenue- Company-operated restaurant revenue: $100.72 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $103.39 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -0.5%.

View all Key Company Metrics for El Pollo Loco here>>>

Shares of El Pollo Loco have returned +0.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.6% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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