Why Restaurant Chain El Pollo Loco's Shares Are Soaring Today

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc LOCO shares are soaring after the company reported first-quarter FY24 earnings.

Yesterday, the company reported first-quarter FY24 sales growth of 1.4% year-on-year to $116.15 million, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $111.083 million.

System-wide comparable restaurant sales increased 5.1%. Company operated restaurants constituted 83.6% of total revenue while Franchise made up 9.8% of total revenue.

Operating income for the quarter increased 24% to $9.7 million, with an operating margin of 8.3%.

Adjusted EBITDA of $15.7 million gained 28.7% in the quarter. Adjusted EPS of $0.22 beat the consensus estimate of $0.14.

EI Pollo held $9.1 million in cash and equivalents as of March 27.

Outlook: For the remainder of 2024, EI Pollo expects to open two new company-owned restaurants and five to seven new franchised restaurants and sees a capital spend of $25 million – $28 million.

Price Action: LOCO shares are trading higher by 19.5% at $10.28 at the last check Friday.

Photo credit: El Pollo Loco