All three tenses have at least two readings, so the archetype blend applies as printed.
All nine metrics read as filed from the record.
What did they actually do?
Has it survived what it has been through?
1 warning event since 2017; the latest 2017-04-05.
From the record
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s filings since 2017 show 1 warning event: a notice about its exchange listing (8-K item 3.01, the latest 2017-04-05) (its current reports).
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What has it actually done, year after year?
+1.7% a year over 8 filed years; profitable in 7 of 8.
From the record
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s 8 filed years say what it did: revenue went from $436 million in fiscal 2018 to $490 million in fiscal 2025, up 1.7% a year; it rose in 5 of 7 years; the deepest fall was 4% from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2020; net income was positive in 7 of 8 of those years (its annual reports).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
How has it treated the people who own it?
Share count shrank 7.0% a year. 60% of cash flow returned. Insiders: 0 sales, 0 purchases.
From the record
Over the 3 fiscal years to 2025-12-31, El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s diluted share count shrank about 7.0% a year, and dividends and buybacks returned about 60% of its operating cash flow over 3 years (its filed statements). Its officers and directors filed 0 sales and 0 purchases of their own stock on the open market in the year to 2026-11-06 (their Form 4 filings).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What are they doing right now?
Is it financially healthy right now?
ROE 9%: 9¢ of profit per shareholder dollar. Leverage 52%: owes 52¢ per asset dollar.
From the record
Return on equity: in the fiscal year ended 2025-12-31, El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. earned about 9 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money. Leverage: it owed about 52 cents per dollar of assets, and net share issuance: its share count shrank 2.1% over the year (the filed statements).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
How strong is its position in its industry?
bottom 44% of 43 in its family; net margin 5.4%.
From the record
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s standing among 43 graded names in its industry family: revenue of $490 million in fiscal 2025 ranks in the bottom 33% by size; a net margin of 5.4% ranks in the top 27%; revenue growth of 1.4% a year over the last 3 filed years ranks in the bottom 24% (its annual reports).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What are the people in charge doing?
bottom 24% of 30 in its family for leadership; chief executive since 2024.
From the record
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s leadership, from its insiders' filings and its current reports: the chief executive on the record is Williams, Elizabeth Goodman (Chief Executive Officer, as filed), filing under that title since 2024-05-20, 2.5 years (bottom 47% of its family); the 9 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 2.5 years (bottom 12%); 9 officer or director changes were reported on Form 8-K since 2023-11-13, against the 9 people in charge now (bottom 13%; fewer changes for each person reads higher) (the Form 4 record, its Form 8-K reports). Years count from a person's first filing in the SEC's data sets, which begin in 2006, so each is a floor.
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What are they set up to do next?
How much room does it have to grow?
top 43% of 41 in its family for room to expand.
From the record
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s room to grow, from the newest filed statements (fiscal 2025): cash of $6 million against debt of $51 million leaves -7.4% of its assets as net cash, top 48% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is 5.2% of revenue (top 39%) (its annual report).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What could actually drive growth from here?
bottom 42% of 42 in its family for growth drivers.
From the record
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s growth drivers, from the filed years to fiscal 2025: revenue grew 1.4% a year over the last three filed years against 1.7% over all 8, slowing (bottom 42% of its family); the newest year grew 3.5% (bottom 39%); capital spending grew 4.3% a year (bottom 44%) (its annual reports). El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. reported 3 product lines in fiscal 2025: Service at $406 million (83%), Franchise at $52 million (11%), Franchise Advertising Fee at $32 million (7%); 3 of 3 grew against the year before (its annual report).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
Did its newest year beat what its own record pointed to?
top 28% of 39 in its family for expectations against reality.
From the record
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.'s newest year against its own record: revenue of $490 million in fiscal 2025 came in 3.3% above the $475 million its prior three years' pace pointed to (top 12% of its family); net income of $26 million against a prior three-year average of $24 million (top 40%); a net margin of 5.4% against 5.1% before (top 32%) (its annual reports).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
The grade is the company against its own industry, from its filings. It is not a view on the share price. How the grade is made