Last 48 quarters of trend data · Consumer Cyclical · Restaurants
Quarterly valuation ratios — annualised for comparability. YoY Δ shows same-quarter-prior-year change.
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s quarterly P/E stands at 12.9x, down 7.3% year-over-year. EV/EBITDA has compressed 13.0% YoY to 9.6x, reflecting multiple compression or accelerating EBITDA.
| Metric | TTM | Q1 '26 | Q4 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q1 '25 | Q4 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q1 '24 | Q4 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q2 '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E Ratio → | 17.81 | 12.85 | 11.89 | 10.04 | 11.26 | 13.87 | 14.76 | 16.20 | 11.21 | 12.37 | 16.16 | 7.95 | 11.43 |
| — | -7.3% | -19.5% | -38.0% | +0.4% | +12.1% | -8.7% | +103.9% | -1.9% | -33.6% | +16.8% | -51.6% | -6.7% | |
| P/S Ratio | 1.00 | 0.82 | 0.62 | 0.61 | 0.63 | 0.65 | 0.76 | 0.83 | 0.70 | 0.63 | 0.65 | 0.62 | 0.67 |
| — | +25.9% | -17.9% | -27.0% | -9.8% | +3.6% | +17.9% | +34.4% | +4.3% | -18.9% | -18.0% | -11.5% | -7.2% | |
| P/B Ratio | 1.62 | 1.36 | 1.06 | 1.04 | 1.15 | 1.16 | 1.33 | 1.57 | 1.37 | 1.13 | 1.16 | 1.15 | 1.17 |
| — | +17.1% | -20.5% | -33.5% | -15.8% | +2.6% | +15.4% | +36.2% | +16.8% | -9.9% | -11.0% | +13.2% | +6.2% | |
| P/FCF | 19.19 | 37.33 | 15.17 | 7.45 | 8.69 | 57.43 | 76.82 | 10.96 | 8.16 | 10.38 | 33.79 | 16.01 | 5.52 |
| — | -35.0% | -80.3% | -32.0% | +6.5% | +453.1% | +127.3% | -31.6% | +48.0% | — | +260.9% | +12.6% | -44.0% | |
| EV / EBITDA | 12.35 | 9.58 | 9.27 | 8.70 | 8.84 | 11.01 | 11.70 | 11.54 | 9.29 | 10.21 | 12.17 | 7.83 | 9.69 |
| — | -13.0% | -20.8% | -24.7% | -4.8% | +7.8% | -3.8% | +47.5% | -4.2% | -22.3% | +7.4% | -38.1% | -1.9% | |
| EV / EBIT | 16.99 | 12.91 | 13.14 | 11.71 | 12.51 | 15.78 | 16.80 | 16.07 | 12.21 | 14.28 | 18.62 | 10.16 | 13.13 |
| — | -18.2% | -21.8% | -27.1% | +2.4% | +10.5% | -9.8% | +58.1% | -7.0% | -24.9% | +19.7% | -46.7% | +0.4% |
Quarterly margins and returns. Watch for margin compression across consecutive quarters.
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s operating margin was 9.8% in Q1 2026, up 1.4 pp QoQ and up 2.3 pp YoY. Gross margin expanded 42.0% YoY, indicating pricing power or improving input costs.
| Metric | TTM | Q1 '26 | Q4 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q1 '25 | Q4 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q1 '24 | Q4 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q2 '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 28.6% | 28.8% | 22.5% | 29.0% | 19.8% | 20.3% | 21.3% | 21.3% | 23.0% | 21.9% | 20.2% | 19.0% | 21.1% |
| — | +42.0% | +5.6% | +36.2% | -13.9% | -7.7% | +5.4% | +12.2% | +8.6% | +12.6% | +5.7% | +11.2% | +9.2% | |
| Operating Margin | 8.7% | 9.8% | 8.5% | 9.4% | 9.6% | 7.5% | 7.9% | 8.4% | 10.1% | 8.3% | 6.6% | 11.4% | 9.0% |
| — | +30.7% | +7.0% | +12.0% | -4.9% | -9.7% | +18.9% | -26.0% | +12.5% | +23.1% | -19.0% | +98.6% | +6.7% | |
| Net Margin | 5.4% | 6.5% | 5.3% | 6.1% | 5.6% | 4.6% | 5.2% | 5.1% | 6.2% | 5.1% | 3.9% | 7.7% | 5.8% |
| — | +40.6% | +1.6% | +17.8% | -9.6% | -9.6% | +34.4% | -33.0% | +7.6% | +18.5% | -31.3% | +83.5% | +0.9% |
| Metric | TTM | Q1 '26 | Q4 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q1 '25 | Q4 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q1 '24 | Q4 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q2 '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 9.6% | 2.7% | 2.3% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 2.5% | 3.0% | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3.4% | 2.5% |
| — | +32.0% | -1.3% | +7.6% | -12.9% | -10.7% | +35.1% | -28.7% | +19.5% | +33.2% | -20.2% | +124.7% | +13.3% | |
| ROA | 4.4% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.6% | 1.2% |
| — | +44.8% | +7.4% | +17.4% | -6.5% | -1.8% | +44.4% | -32.6% | +7.8% | +14.0% | -36.0% | +89.1% | +2.3% | |
| ROIC | 6.1% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 2.0% | 1.6% |
| — | +36.8% | +13.8% | +10.5% | -3.5% | -8.1% | +20.8% | -25.5% | +14.5% | +25.4% | -21.2% | +101.6% | +4.4% |
Quarterly solvency trend — watch for debt spikes or covenant pressure.
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s Debt/EBITDA ratio is 13.9x, down from 16.4x last quarter — elevated, raising questions about debt serviceability. The current ratio has improved 7.4% YoY to 0.34x, strengthening the short-term liquidity position. Debt/Equity has declined for 8 consecutive quarters, reflecting a deleveraging trend.
| Metric | TTM | Q1 '26 | Q4 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q1 '25 | Q4 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q1 '24 | Q4 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q2 '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 0.82 | 0.77 | 0.82 | 0.89 | 0.94 | 0.98 | 1.01 | 1.03 | 1.11 | 1.06 | 1.09 | 1.04 | 0.91 |
| — | -21.8% | -18.4% | -13.7% | -14.9% | -7.0% | -7.5% | -0.2% | +22.2% | +18.7% | +21.2% | +63.0% | +26.3% | |
| Debt / EBITDA | 4.10 | 13.93 | 16.38 | 16.35 | 16.15 | 20.34 | 20.24 | 18.56 | 16.88 | 20.04 | 23.94 | 15.19 | 17.21 |
| — | -31.5% | -19.0% | -11.9% | -4.3% | +1.5% | -15.4% | +22.2% | -1.9% | -8.7% | +24.8% | -24.6% | +4.0% | |
| Current Ratio | 0.08 | 0.34 | 0.08 | 0.41 | 0.35 | 0.32 | 0.26 | 0.31 | 0.35 | 0.36 | 0.35 | 0.42 | 0.37 |
| — | +7.4% | -70.0% | +31.1% | +0.6% | -10.6% | -24.1% | -25.8% | -5.6% | -4.5% | -36.6% | -26.4% | -53.5% | |
| Quick Ratio | 0.08 | 0.32 | 0.08 | 0.41 | 0.33 | 0.29 | 0.24 | 0.29 | 0.32 | 0.33 | 0.32 | 0.39 | 0.34 |
| — | +8.8% | -66.8% | +42.3% | +0.9% | -11.9% | -25.8% | -26.5% | -4.8% | -2.0% | -37.4% | -27.6% | -55.1% | |
| Interest Coverage | 9.50 | 16.98 | 10.68 | 10.21 | 9.37 | 7.63 | 7.12 | 6.65 | 8.11 | 6.19 | 5.15 | 9.83 | 11.03 |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Includes 30+ ratios · 48 years · Updated daily
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying LOCO stock.
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s current P/E is 17.8x. The average P/E over the last 4 quarters is 11.5x. Quarterly P/E ratios can vary due to seasonal revenue patterns and one-time charges.
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s current operating margin is 8.7%. Margins have been expanding over recent quarters. Quarterly margins are particularly useful for identifying trend inflections that annual data smooths over.
Quarterly financial ratios reveal short-term trend shifts — margin compression, debt spikes, or valuation re-ratings — that annual figures smooth over. They're essential for active investors tracking El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s business trajectory between earnings reports.