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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN STATES WATER CO (AWR) and El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

AMERICAN STATES WATER CO is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($164.3M vs $126.2M, roughly 1.3× El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.). AMERICAN STATES WATER CO runs the higher net margin — 17.5% vs 6.5%, a 11.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, AMERICAN STATES WATER CO posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (14.8% vs 5.9%). Over the past eight quarters, AMERICAN STATES WATER CO's revenue compounded faster (10.2% CAGR vs 1.6%).

American Water is an American public utility company that, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States.

El Pollo Loco, Inc., is a restaurant chain based in the United States, specializing in Mexican-style grilled chicken. Restaurant service consists of dine-in and take-out, with some locations offering drive-through options. The company is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, and operates about 500 company-owned and franchised restaurants in the Southwestern United States.

AWR vs LOCO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
AWR
AWR
1.3× larger
AWR
$164.3M
$126.2M
LOCO
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
AWR
AWR
+8.9% gap
AWR
14.8%
5.9%
LOCO
Higher net margin
AWR
AWR
11.0% more per $
AWR
17.5%
6.5%
LOCO
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
AWR
AWR
Annualised
AWR
10.2%
1.6%
LOCO

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Revenue
$164.3M
$126.2M
Net Profit
$28.7M
$8.2M
Gross Margin
88.9%
Operating Margin
27.4%
9.7%
Net Margin
17.5%
6.5%
Revenue YoY
14.8%
5.9%
Net Profit YoY
1.1%
48.8%
EPS (diluted)
$0.74
$0.27

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
$126.2M
Q4 25
$164.3M
$123.5M
Q3 25
$182.7M
$121.5M
Q2 25
$163.1M
$125.8M
Q1 25
$148.0M
$119.2M
Q4 24
$143.1M
$114.3M
Q3 24
$161.8M
$120.4M
Q2 24
$155.3M
$122.2M
Net Profit
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
$8.2M
Q4 25
$28.7M
$6.5M
Q3 25
$41.2M
$7.4M
Q2 25
$33.7M
$7.1M
Q1 25
$26.8M
$5.5M
Q4 24
$28.4M
$6.0M
Q3 24
$35.8M
$6.2M
Q2 24
$31.9M
$7.6M
Gross Margin
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
Q4 25
88.9%
Q3 25
91.0%
Q2 25
92.1%
Q1 25
91.3%
Q4 24
92.4%
Q3 24
92.7%
Q2 24
89.6%
Operating Margin
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
9.7%
Q4 25
27.4%
8.3%
Q3 25
33.8%
9.4%
Q2 25
31.3%
9.0%
Q1 25
30.8%
7.5%
Q4 24
27.0%
7.9%
Q3 24
34.0%
8.4%
Q2 24
33.3%
10.1%
Net Margin
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
6.5%
Q4 25
17.5%
5.3%
Q3 25
22.5%
6.1%
Q2 25
20.7%
5.6%
Q1 25
18.1%
4.6%
Q4 24
19.9%
5.2%
Q3 24
22.1%
5.1%
Q2 24
20.5%
6.2%
EPS (diluted)
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
$0.27
Q4 25
$0.74
$0.22
Q3 25
$1.06
$0.25
Q2 25
$0.87
$0.24
Q1 25
$0.70
$0.19
Q4 24
$0.75
$0.21
Q3 24
$0.95
$0.21
Q2 24
$0.85
$0.25

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$18.8M
$3.9M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$782.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.0B
$302.5M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$609.1M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.75×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
$3.9M
Q4 25
$18.8M
$6.2M
Q3 25
$26.1M
$10.9M
Q2 25
$20.2M
$9.0M
Q1 25
$21.2M
$4.3M
Q4 24
$26.7M
$2.5M
Q3 24
$16.5M
$7.9M
Q2 24
$3.6M
$10.5M
Total Debt
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$782.7M
$51.0M
Q3 25
$61.0M
Q2 25
$69.0M
Q1 25
$73.0M
Q4 24
$640.4M
$71.0M
Q3 24
$76.0M
Q2 24
$87.0M
Stockholders' Equity
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
$302.5M
Q4 25
$1.0B
$291.1M
Q3 25
$1.0B
$282.9M
Q2 25
$972.5M
$274.2M
Q1 25
$956.4M
$265.7M
Q4 24
$920.1M
$260.7M
Q3 24
$879.5M
$255.2M
Q2 24
$833.5M
$248.6M
Total Assets
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
$609.1M
Q4 25
$2.7B
$606.6M
Q3 25
$2.7B
$602.7M
Q2 25
$2.6B
$596.8M
Q1 25
$2.5B
$590.5M
Q4 24
$2.5B
$592.0M
Q3 24
$2.4B
$590.0M
Q2 24
$2.3B
$593.8M
Debt / Equity
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.75×
0.18×
Q3 25
0.22×
Q2 25
0.25×
Q1 25
0.27×
Q4 24
0.70×
0.27×
Q3 24
0.30×
Q2 24
0.35×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$27.7M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-36.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-21.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
38.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.96×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-7.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$27.7M
$13.9M
Q3 25
$92.4M
$15.3M
Q2 25
$64.6M
$14.1M
Q1 25
$45.1M
$4.7M
Q4 24
$64.5M
$5.6M
Q3 24
$63.7M
$13.0M
Q2 24
$24.7M
$17.0M
Free Cash Flow
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-36.0M
$5.1M
Q3 25
$37.7M
$9.9M
Q2 25
$13.7M
$9.1M
Q1 25
$-22.5M
$1.3M
Q4 24
$6.0M
$1.1M
Q3 24
$-478.0K
$9.1M
Q2 24
$-37.0M
$10.4M
FCF Margin
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
Q4 25
-21.9%
4.1%
Q3 25
20.7%
8.2%
Q2 25
8.4%
7.2%
Q1 25
-15.2%
1.1%
Q4 24
4.2%
1.0%
Q3 24
-0.3%
7.6%
Q2 24
-23.8%
8.5%
Capex Intensity
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
Q4 25
38.8%
7.1%
Q3 25
29.9%
4.4%
Q2 25
31.2%
4.0%
Q1 25
45.6%
2.8%
Q4 24
40.9%
3.9%
Q3 24
39.7%
3.2%
Q2 24
39.8%
5.3%
Cash Conversion
AWR
AWR
LOCO
LOCO
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.96×
2.13×
Q3 25
2.24×
2.08×
Q2 25
1.92×
1.99×
Q1 25
1.68×
0.86×
Q4 24
2.27×
0.95×
Q3 24
1.78×
2.11×
Q2 24
0.78×
2.22×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AWR
AWR

Water Service Utility Operations$110.0M67%
Public Utilities Inventory Water$22.3M14%
Wastewater$15.9M10%
Electric Service Utility Operations$15.2M9%

LOCO
LOCO

Segment breakdown not available.

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