El Pollo Loco (LOCO) Q4 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates
El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) reported $112.25 million in revenue for the quarter ended December 2023, representing a year-over-year decline of 3.2%. EPS of $0.16 for the same period compares to $0.16 a year ago.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of +3.12% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $108.85 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.16, the company has not delivered EPS surprise.
While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.
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: 323 compared to the 322 average estimate based on two analysts.
Same-Store Sales - System-wide: 0.9% versus the two-analyst average estimate of 1.2%.
Stores at the End of Period - Total Restaurants: 495 compared to the 493 average estimate based on two analysts.
Stores at the End of Period - Company-owned Restaurants: 172 versus 172 estimated by two analysts on average.
Revenue- Franchise advertising fee revenue: $7.33 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $7.39 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +5.9%.
Revenue- Franchise revenue: $10.96 million versus $10.20 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +17% change.
Revenue- Company-operated restaurant revenue: $93.96 million compared to the $91.26 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -5.7% year over year.
View all Key Company Metrics for El Pollo Loco here>>>
Shares of El Pollo Loco have returned -0.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.2% 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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El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
