CMG vs LOCO vs SBUX Stock Comparison

Chipotle Mexican Grill, El Pollo Loco Holdings and Starbucks Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc
$32.92 +1.5% 1M +3.9% 1Y
Market cap
$44.23B
P/E
32.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.71B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
LOCO El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
$15.57 +9.5% 1M +52.3% 1Y
Market cap
$480.10M
P/E
13.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$500.79M
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
SBUX Starbucks Corp
$104.40 +10.2% 1M +29.1% 1Y
Market cap
$123.59B
P/E
62.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.34B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

El Pollo Loco Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (El Pollo Loco Holdings 5, Starbucks 3, Chipotle Mexican Grill 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCMGLOCOSBUXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $44.23B $480.10M $123.59B SBUX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.1x 13.8x 62.3x LOCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 31.1x 16.0x 35.0x LOCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.9% +4.4% +4.5% CMG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.8% 7.0% 5.2% CMG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 10.8% 31.4% SBUX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.2x 2.1x LOCO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.9% +52.3% +29.1% LOCO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.5%/yr +0.9%/yr -1.5%/yr LOCO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.1% 34.8% 27.5% SBUX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 59/100 33/100 CMG

Percentile Scorecard

CMGLOCOSBUX

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCMGLOCOSBUX
Valuation 18 #41 of 50 90 #6 of 50 8 #46 of 50
Growth 34 #32 of 48 79 #11 of 48 17 #40 of 48
Profitability 91 #5 of 47 57 #21 of 47 67 #16 of 47
Financial Health 64 #19 of 51 68 #17 of 51 40 #31 of 51
Shareholder Returns 91 #4 of 33 0 #33 of 33 34 #22 of 33
Overall 60 59 33
  • CMG ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • LOCO ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • SBUX ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCMGLOCOSBUXSPY
1 month +1.5%+9.5%+10.2% -2.3%
3 months -12.1%-5.9%+1.0% -0.7%
6 months +2.9%+19.8%-0.5% +4.8%
Year to date -11.0%+48.9%+24.0% +10.3%
1 year +3.9%+52.3%+29.1% +10.3%
3 years -19.3%+77.3%+1.7% +73.0%
3 years, per year -6.9%+21.1%+0.6% +20.1%
5 years -7.4%+4.5%-7.3% +61.9%
5 years, per year -1.5%+0.9%-1.5% +10.1%
10 years +345.5%+29.8%+97.1% +258.6%
10 years, per year +16.1%+2.6%+7.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCMGLOCOSBUXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.1%34.8%27.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.9%31.5%24.7% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.410.390.54 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.091.501.06 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.9%-47.2%-40.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.5%-9.5%-3.8% -3.5%
52-week high $40.87$17.20$108.55 $779.14
52-week low $27.51$10.07$79.60 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCMGLOCOSBUX
P/E now vs peer median 30.5xmedian 21.4x 13.3xmedian 21.4x 60.0xmedian 21.4x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 1.1x 0.9xmedian 1.1x 3.1xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.6xmedian 13.8x 7.1xmedian 13.8x 27.7xmedian 13.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.6xmedian 17.5x 11.6xmedian 17.5x 32.7xmedian 17.5x
P/B now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 3.1x 1.5xmedian 3.1x -15.5xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 3.64median 0.96 0.64median 0.96 -3.12median 0.96

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCMGLOCOSBUX
Revenue $12.71B $500.79M $38.34B
Gross profit – $161.41M –
Operating income $1.79B $52.67M $2.98B
Net income $1.38B $34.86M $1.98B
Free cash flow $1.51B $41.01M $3.64B
EPS (diluted) $1.08 $1.16 $1.73
Cash & equivalents $634.21M $13.30M $3.45B
Total debt – $30.00M $13.28B
Shares (diluted) 1.28B 30.09M 1.14B
Enterprise value $40.73B $445.77M $111.21B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCMGLOCOSBUX
P/E 30.5x 13.3x 60.0x
P/FCF 27.6x 11.6x 32.7x
P/Operating cash flow 17.7x 6.4x 23.9x
P/S 3.3x 0.9x 3.1x
P/B 17.0x 1.5x -15.5x
P/Tangible book 17.0x 1.9x -15.2x
EV/EBITDA 18.6x 7.1x 27.7x
EV/EBIT 22.7x 9.3x 43.2x
EV/Revenue 3.2x 1.0x 3.4x
EV/FCF 27.0x 12.0x 35.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.4x 6.6x 25.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.64 0.64 -3.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCMGLOCOSBUX
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.9% 4.4% 4.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.1% 2.0% 3.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 8.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 8.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -7.1% 33.5% -24.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 14.6% -17.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -10.4% 41.0% -24.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 14.0% -19.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -6.1% 37.1% -24.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 20.7% -19.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.0% 97.0% 1.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 15.1% -1.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.0% 98.0% 61.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 13.3% 6.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCMGLOCOSBUX
Gross margin – 32.2% –
EBITDA margin 17.2% 13.9% 12.1%
Operating margin 14.1% 10.5% 7.8%
Pretax margin 14.4% 9.8% 8.0%
Net margin 10.8% 7.0% 5.2%
FCF margin 11.9% 8.2% 9.5%
Operating cash flow margin 18.5% 14.8% 13.0%
Return on equity 59.2% 11.2% –
Return on assets 15.1% 5.7% 6.7%
Return on invested capital – 10.8% 31.4%
Return on capital employed 23.3% 9.9% 15.3%
Asset turnover 1.4x 0.8x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 2.1x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 1.1% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCMGLOCOSBUX
Debt / assets – 4.8% 46.9%
Debt / equity – 0.1x -1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.2x 2.1x
Debt / FCF – 0.7x 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 74.0% 48.8% 127.1%
Equity / assets 26.0% 51.2% -27.1%
Interest coverage – 14.9x 5.4x
Current ratio 0.8x 0.4x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 5.55 2.08 3.16

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCMGLOCOSBUX
Dividend yield – – 2.4%
Net buyback yield 5.3% -0.7% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 5.3% -0.7% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCMGLOCOSBUX
Forward P/E 31.1xFY2026 16.0xFY2026 35.0xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $1.07FY2026 $0.97FY2026 $2.99FY2027
EPS growth, next FY -8.5%FY2026 -1.0%FY2026 +34.9%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +19.6% +22.7% +30.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.54BFY2026 $481.37MFY2026 $35.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.5%FY2026 -1.8%FY2026 -4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.7% +6.1% +5.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCMGLOCOSBUX
Held by institutions 89.5% 93.3% 85.6%
Institutions holding 1,199 152 2,403
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +7.1% +4.9%
Institutions buying 511 89 1,099
Institutions selling 528 42 992
Buyers to sellers 0.97 2.12 1.11

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CMGLOCOSBUX
CMG 1.00 0.41 0.36
LOCO 0.41 1.00 0.31
SBUX 0.36 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CMG, LOCO and SBUX?

Starbucks (SBUX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) $44.23B, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) $480.10M, Starbucks (SBUX) $123.59B.

Which stock is cheaper, CMG, LOCO and SBUX?

El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 32.1x, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 13.8x, Starbucks (SBUX) 62.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) is cheapest (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 31.1x, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 16.0x, Starbucks (SBUX) 35.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +7.9%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) +4.4%, Starbucks (SBUX) +4.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has the highest net margin (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 10.8%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 7.0%, Starbucks (SBUX) 5.2%). On return on invested capital, Starbucks (SBUX) leads (El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 10.8%, Starbucks (SBUX) 31.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) returned the most: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +3.9%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) +52.3%, Starbucks (SBUX) +29.1%. Over five years, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) compounded fastest (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -1.5%/yr, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) +0.9%/yr, Starbucks (SBUX) -1.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Starbucks (SBUX) has been the steadiest (Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 41.1%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 34.8%, Starbucks (SBUX) 27.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CMG, LOCO and SBUX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.