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Side-by-side financial comparison of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO) and PDF SOLUTIONS INC (PDFS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($123.5M vs $62.4M, roughly 2.0× PDF SOLUTIONS INC). El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 5.3% vs -0.1%, a 5.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, PDF SOLUTIONS INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (24.6% vs 8.1%). PDF SOLUTIONS INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($7.5M vs $5.1M). Over the past eight quarters, PDF SOLUTIONS INC's revenue compounded faster (22.9% CAGR vs 3.1%).

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.

PDF Solutions, Inc. is an American multinational software and engineering services company based in Santa Clara, California. The company is listed in the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol PDFS.

LOCO vs PDFS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
LOCO
LOCO
2.0× larger
LOCO
$123.5M
$62.4M
PDFS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PDFS
PDFS
+16.5% gap
PDFS
24.6%
8.1%
LOCO
Higher net margin
LOCO
LOCO
5.4% more per $
LOCO
5.3%
-0.1%
PDFS
More free cash flow
PDFS
PDFS
$2.5M more FCF
PDFS
$7.5M
$5.1M
LOCO
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
PDFS
PDFS
Annualised
PDFS
22.9%
3.1%
LOCO

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Revenue
$123.5M
$62.4M
Net Profit
$6.5M
$-48.0K
Gross Margin
72.9%
Operating Margin
8.3%
5.5%
Net Margin
5.3%
-0.1%
Revenue YoY
8.1%
24.6%
Net Profit YoY
9.9%
-108.9%
EPS (diluted)
$0.22
$0.00

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
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$123.5M
$62.4M
Q3 25
$121.5M
$57.1M
Q2 25
$125.8M
$51.7M
Q1 25
$119.2M
$47.8M
Q4 24
$114.3M
$50.1M
Q3 24
$120.4M
$46.4M
Q2 24
$122.2M
$41.7M
Q1 24
$116.2M
$41.3M
Net Profit
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$6.5M
$-48.0K
Q3 25
$7.4M
$1.3M
Q2 25
$7.1M
$1.1M
Q1 25
$5.5M
$-3.0M
Q4 24
$6.0M
$539.0K
Q3 24
$6.2M
$2.2M
Q2 24
$7.6M
$1.7M
Q1 24
$5.9M
$-393.0K
Gross Margin
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
72.9%
Q3 25
72.3%
Q2 25
71.2%
Q1 25
72.9%
Q4 24
68.3%
Q3 24
73.1%
Q2 24
70.6%
Q1 24
67.3%
Operating Margin
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
8.3%
5.5%
Q3 25
9.4%
8.5%
Q2 25
9.0%
2.2%
Q1 25
7.5%
-7.4%
Q4 24
7.9%
1.0%
Q3 24
8.4%
4.6%
Q2 24
10.1%
0.6%
Q1 24
8.3%
-4.7%
Net Margin
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
5.3%
-0.1%
Q3 25
6.1%
2.3%
Q2 25
5.6%
2.2%
Q1 25
4.6%
-6.3%
Q4 24
5.2%
1.1%
Q3 24
5.1%
4.8%
Q2 24
6.2%
4.1%
Q1 24
5.1%
-1.0%
EPS (diluted)
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$0.22
$0.00
Q3 25
$0.25
$0.03
Q2 25
$0.24
$0.03
Q1 25
$0.19
$-0.08
Q4 24
$0.21
$0.01
Q3 24
$0.21
$0.06
Q2 24
$0.25
$0.04
Q1 24
$0.19
$-0.01

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$6.2M
$42.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$51.0M
$67.0M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$291.1M
$271.0M
Total Assets
$606.6M
$418.7M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.18×
0.25×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$6.2M
$42.2M
Q3 25
$10.9M
$35.9M
Q2 25
$9.0M
$40.4M
Q1 25
$4.3M
$54.1M
Q4 24
$2.5M
$114.9M
Q3 24
$7.9M
$120.2M
Q2 24
$10.5M
$117.9M
Q1 24
$9.1M
$122.9M
Total Debt
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$51.0M
$67.0M
Q3 25
$61.0M
$67.6M
Q2 25
$69.0M
$68.1M
Q1 25
$73.0M
$68.7M
Q4 24
$71.0M
Q3 24
$76.0M
Q2 24
$87.0M
Q1 24
$80.0M
Stockholders' Equity
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$291.1M
$271.0M
Q3 25
$282.9M
$264.4M
Q2 25
$274.2M
$257.5M
Q1 25
$265.7M
$249.0M
Q4 24
$260.7M
$246.0M
Q3 24
$255.2M
$240.5M
Q2 24
$248.6M
$232.2M
Q1 24
$256.3M
$225.4M
Total Assets
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$606.6M
$418.7M
Q3 25
$602.7M
$406.4M
Q2 25
$596.8M
$391.1M
Q1 25
$590.5M
$390.0M
Q4 24
$592.0M
$315.3M
Q3 24
$590.0M
$307.4M
Q2 24
$593.8M
$298.0M
Q1 24
$598.0M
$286.8M
Debt / Equity
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
0.18×
0.25×
Q3 25
0.22×
0.26×
Q2 25
0.25×
0.26×
Q1 25
0.27×
0.28×
Q4 24
0.27×
Q3 24
0.30×
Q2 24
0.35×
Q1 24
0.31×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$13.9M
$17.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$5.1M
$7.5M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
4.1%
12.1%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
7.1%
15.7%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.13×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$25.4M
$-8.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$13.9M
$17.3M
Q3 25
$15.3M
$3.3M
Q2 25
$14.1M
$-5.2M
Q1 25
$4.7M
$8.6M
Q4 24
$5.6M
$1.6M
Q3 24
$13.0M
$9.3M
Q2 24
$17.0M
$684.0K
Q1 24
$11.2M
$-1.9M
Free Cash Flow
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$5.1M
$7.5M
Q3 25
$9.9M
$-2.9M
Q2 25
$9.1M
$-13.8M
Q1 25
$1.3M
$535.0K
Q4 24
$1.1M
$-4.0M
Q3 24
$9.1M
$5.1M
Q2 24
$10.4M
$-4.6M
Q1 24
$7.0M
$-3.9M
FCF Margin
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
4.1%
12.1%
Q3 25
8.2%
-5.1%
Q2 25
7.2%
-26.6%
Q1 25
1.1%
1.1%
Q4 24
1.0%
-8.0%
Q3 24
7.6%
11.0%
Q2 24
8.5%
-11.1%
Q1 24
6.0%
-9.4%
Capex Intensity
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
7.1%
15.7%
Q3 25
4.4%
10.8%
Q2 25
4.0%
16.5%
Q1 25
2.8%
17.0%
Q4 24
3.9%
11.3%
Q3 24
3.2%
9.0%
Q2 24
5.3%
12.8%
Q1 24
3.6%
4.9%
Cash Conversion
LOCO
LOCO
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
2.13×
Q3 25
2.08×
2.54×
Q2 25
1.99×
-4.55×
Q1 25
0.86×
Q4 24
0.95×
2.98×
Q3 24
2.11×
4.20×
Q2 24
2.22×
0.40×
Q1 24
1.89×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

LOCO
LOCO

Services$102.4M83%
Franchise$13.0M11%
Franchise Advertising Fee$8.1M7%

PDFS
PDFS

Volumebased$38.0M61%
Other$24.4M39%

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