El Pollo Loco (LOCO) Reports Q3 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say
El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) reported $120.4 million in revenue for the quarter ended September 2023, representing a year-over-year increase of 0.4%. EPS of $0.19 for the same period compares to $0.14 a year ago.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of -0.62% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $121.15 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.18, the EPS surprise was +5.56%.
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: 321 versus 305 estimated by three analysts on average.
Stores at the End of Period - Company-owned Restaurants: 171 compared to the 188 average estimate based on three analysts.
Same-Store Sales - System-wide: 0.8% versus the three-analyst average estimate of 1.2%.
Stores at the End of Period - Total Restaurants: 492 compared to the 493 average estimate based on three analysts.
Same-Store Sales - Franchise restaurants: 1.1% versus the two-analyst average estimate of 1.3%.
Same-Store Sales - Company-owned Restaurants: 0.3% versus 1.5% estimated by two analysts on average.
Revenue- Franchise advertising fee revenue: $7.44 million compared to the $7.40 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +3.9% year over year.
Revenue- Franchise revenue: $10.26 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $9.91 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +7.5%.
Revenue- Company-operated restaurant revenue: $102.70 million versus $103.82 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -0.5% change.
View all Key Company Metrics for El Pollo Loco here>>>
Shares of El Pollo Loco have returned -3.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.1% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term.
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El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
