El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) Operating Margin (2015 - 2026)
El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) recorded Operating Margin of 14.42% in Q2 2026, up 5.43 percentage points from 8.98% a year earlier and up 4.74 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) Operating Margin (2015 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a TTM basis, El Pollo Loco Holdings' Operating Margin came in at 10.52% as of Jul 1, 2026, up 2.29 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it was 8.58%, down 0.12 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual Operating Margin has a five-year change of +0.70 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Across earlier years, Operating Margin came in at 8.70% in FY2024 (+0.21 pp), 8.49% in FY2023 (+2.08 pp), 6.41% in FY2022 (-2.69 pp) and 9.10% in FY2021 (+1.22 pp).
- The Q2 2026 figure is the highest quarterly Operating Margin since Q2 2019.
- On a year-over-year basis, Operating Margin has increased for four consecutive quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.68 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- Peak year-over-year performance for Operating Margin in the last five years was a gain of 5.65 percentage points in Q3 2023, against a drop of 6.59 percentage points in Q3 2022 at the low end.
- Per Business Quant, the preceding three quarters came in at 9.68% (Q1 2026), 8.35% (Q4 2025) and 9.43% (Q3 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mcdonalds | 165.62 Bn | 160.44 Bn | 6.42 Bn | 47.02% |
| 2 | Starbucks | 108.79 Bn | 96.42 Bn | - | 10.52% |
| 3 | Chipotle Mexican Grill | 40.35 Bn | 36.33 Bn | - | 15.70% |
| 4 | Yum Brands | 37.59 Bn | 34.48 Bn | 1.47 Bn | 30.20% |
| 5 | Restaurant Brands International | 24.96 Bn | 22.07 Bn | 1.38 Bn | 28.41% |
| 6 | Darden Restaurants | 22.28 Bn | 21.39 Bn | -113.70 Mn | 13.90% |
| 7 | Restaurant Brands International Limited Partnership | 17.01 Bn | 12.57 Bn | 1.38 Bn | 28.41% |
| 8 | Yum China Holdings | 14.08 Bn | 8.44 Bn | 537.00 Mn | 11.09% |
| 9 | Texas Roadhouse | 10.31 Bn | 9.67 Bn | - | 8.50% |
| 10 | El Pollo Loco Holdings | 439.56 Mn | 405.23 Mn | 42.50 Mn | 14.42% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2026 | 14.42% |
| Apr 1, 2026 | 9.68% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 8.35% |
| Sep 24, 2025 | 9.43% |
| Jun 25, 2025 | 8.98% |
| Mar 26, 2025 | 7.53% |
| Dec 25, 2024 | 7.90% |
| Sep 25, 2024 | 8.42% |
| Jun 26, 2024 | 10.08% |
| Mar 27, 2024 | 8.33% |
| Dec 27, 2023 | 6.65% |
| Sep 27, 2023 | 11.37% |
| Jun 28, 2023 | 8.96% |
| Mar 29, 2023 | 6.77% |
| Dec 28, 2022 | 8.20% |
| Sep 28, 2022 | 5.73% |
| Jun 29, 2022 | 8.40% |
| Mar 30, 2022 | 3.02% |
| Dec 29, 2021 | 7.73% |
| Sep 29, 2021 | 12.31% |
API Access
El Pollo Loco Holdings Operating Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=LOCO&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-margin", "ticker": "LOCO", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=LOCO&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();