Portillo's Inc. (PTLO) stock analysis

In our weekly check, Portillo's Inc. is graded D (A to F). Of 24 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 10 pass, warnings: 4, red flags: 10.

About Portillo's Inc.

Portillo's Inc. is a Consumer Cyclical company (Restaurants) based in the United States, listed on NASDAQ as PTLO.

What our checks show for PTLO

Red flags

• Net debt is 10.2x a year of EBITDA (debt/equity 1.44). That limits room in a downturn and raises refinancing risk.
• Operating profit covers interest only 1.8 times: a weak year could make the payments hard.
• The gross margin fell by 18.7 points, to 24.1%: costs are rising faster than prices.
• The net margin is only 1.9%: little room if costs rise.
• Free cash flow is negative (-1.1% of revenue): the business spends more cash than it brings in.
• The price swings a lot: 55.5% annual volatility. Expect large ups and downs.
• The stock has fallen as much as 94% from a peak. Would you have held through that?
• The share count grew by 27.9% in 2 years: each shareholder owns a smaller slice.
• Return on capital (ROCE) is only 2.9%.
• Pay in shares equals 0% of free cash flow: it dilutes shareholders.

Warning signs

• Earnings per share fell 10.6% a year over the last 3 years.
• A small company (market value $305 million): usually riskier and followed by fewer analysts.
• The stock is still below its previous peak.
• Beta 1.59: the stock usually moves more than the market, both up and down.

Strengths

• The net margin rose by 0.7 points over 5 years, to 1.9%.
• Operating cash flow is 5.74x net profit: the profit arrives as real cash.
• Analysts expect earnings per share to grow about 26.9% a year over the next years.

Next earnings report: 2026-11-05

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Questions

What grade does Portillo's Inc. (PTLO) have?

In our weekly check, Portillo's Inc. is graded D (A to F). Of 24 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 10 pass, warnings: 4, red flags: 10. The grade is a risk check, not a buy or sell recommendation.

What are the main risks of PTLO stock?

This week's biggest flags for Portillo's Inc.: High debt, Weak interest cover, Gross margin falling. In total 14 of 24 checks show a warning or a red flag.

What does Portillo's Inc. do?

Portillo's Inc. is a Consumer Cyclical company (Restaurants) based in the United States, listed on NASDAQ as PTLO.

When does Portillo's Inc. report earnings next?

The next earnings report is expected on 2026-11-05. We re-run the checks every week, so the grade can change after it.

The grade is a risk check, not a price forecast, and not investment advice. In our 10-year test (S&P 500, 2016-2026), stocks we graded A or B fell more than 30% 2-3 times less often than D or F, without a lower average return.

Updated 2026-10-24

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