What Happened?
Shares of fast food chain El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO) jumped 3.6% in the afternoon session after positive momentum continued as the company reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings that beat expectations.
The fast-food chain posted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.25, which was higher than the anticipated $0.20. Following the results, the company outlined its key goals for 2026. These included driving sustainable growth in customer traffic, maintaining discipline on profit margins, and thoughtfully expanding its restaurant footprint across the country. The positive earnings report appeared to give investors confidence in the company's financial health and strategic direction.
The shares closed the day at $14.32, up 3% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
El Pollo Loco’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 7 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock gained 5.4% on the news that the stock's positive momentum continued as the company reported strong fourth-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street's expectations.
The company's revenue rose 8% year over year to $123.5 million, while sales at restaurants open for at least 15 months grew by 2.1%. Its profits showed even stronger growth, with adjusted net income jumping 24% to $7.3 million, or $0.25 per share, which was well above the $0.20 per share analysts had forecasted. The company also improved its restaurant contribution margin to 17.5% from 16.7% in the same period the previous year. Looking ahead, El Pollo Loco announced plans to open 18 to 20 new restaurants in 2026, focusing its expansion outside of California. Following the positive results, Benchmark analyst Todd Brooks upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold.
El Pollo Loco is up 38.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $14.34 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Despite the year-to-date gain, investors who bought $1,000 worth of El Pollo Loco’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $792.43.
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