What Awaits El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) in Q4 Earnings?

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El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. LOCO is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 7. In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.6%.

Q4 Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 16 cents, remaining flat from a year ago. Over the past 60 days, estimates for the company’s earnings have been stable. For quarterly revenues, the consensus mark is pegged at $108.9 million, indicating a decline of 6.1% from the prior-year reported figure.

Factors Likely to Impact Q4 Results

A decline in company-operated restaurant revenues is likely to have negatively impacted LOCO’s performance. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues from company-operated restaurant is pegged at $91 million, suggesting a decrease of 9% from the year-ago reported figure. However, the consensus estimate for franchise revenues is pegged at $10.2 million, suggesting an improvement of 9% from the prior-year levels.

LOCO's unwavering commitment to delivering noteworthy service and competitive pricing, along with its marketing efforts, is likely to have contributed to its strong performance. Leveraging menu innovations, higher menu prices, temporary promotions and solid brand presence also bode well.

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. price-eps-surprise | El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. Quote

What Does the Zacks Model Say

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for El Pollo Loco Holdings this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that's not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

El Pollo Loco Holdings has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks With Favorable Combination

Here are some companies you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat.

Costco COST currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.58% and carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings per share is pegged at $3.60, implying an increase of 9.1% from the year-ago levels. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Costco’s top line is expected to ascend from the prior-year figures. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $59.2 billion, which indicates an increase of 7.1% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. COST has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 2.6%, on average.

Guess GES has an Earnings ESP of +4.25% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. GES is likely to register top-line growth when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $855.5 million, which indicates a decline of 4.6% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus mark for GES’ fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings per share is pegged at $1.55, suggesting a 10.9% decline from the year-earlier actuals. The consensus estimate for earnings has been unchanged in the past 30 days. GES has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 43.1%, on average.

Burlington Stores BURL currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.27% and a Zacks Rank #3. BURL is expected to register a bottom-line increase when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings per share of $3.25 suggests a rise of 9.8% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus mark for Burlington Stores’ revenues is pegged at $3.02 billion, indicating an increase of 9.9% from the year-ago quarter’s actuals. BURL has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.4%, on average.

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