Portillo's Lowers 2025 Same-Store Sales And Unit Growth Guidance; Sees Q3 Same-Restaurant Sales To Be In The Range Of (2.0%) to (2.5%); Sees FY25 Revenues $730M-$733M; Expects To Open 8 Restaurants In Fiscal 2026, The Net Build Cost Average For These 8 Restaurants Is Projected To Be Less Than $5M

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | September 10, 2025 08:44am

Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO), the fast-casual restaurant concept known for its menu of Chicago-style favorites, today announced a strategic reset of its development and growth plans to sharpen focus on its core markets, enhance unit economics, and position the company for sustained success.

Michael Osanloo, Portillo's President and CEO:

"As we advance Portillo's growth strategy, two priorities stand out. First, driving sustainable traffic through consistent service and value. And second, disciplined development with restaurants designed for strong unit economics, attractive four-wall returns, and efficient capital deployment that will fuel long-term growth.

The initiatives we announced today directly align with these priorities and are anchored by four clear goals:

• Drive transactions by reinforcing value and service.
• Simplify operations, including the discontinuation of our Chicago breakfast pilot.
• Sharpen focus with a more measured pace of new restaurant growth.
• Optimize capital deployment to position Portillo's for positive free cash flow in 2026.

We are confident in our strategy and our ability to execute. Our team remains fully committed to creating long-term shareholder value while delivering a one-of-a-kind experience for both new and loyal Portillo's guests."

Updated Fiscal 2025 Financial Targets

The company expects same-restaurant sales for the third quarter ended September 28, 2025 to be in the range of (2.0%) to (2.5%). This update, as well as the changes in our fiscal year guidance below, reflect an anticipated decline of current trends for the remainder of 2025 given pricing and promotional dynamics within the industry.  

Based on current expectations, management has updated financial targets for fiscal 2025 as follows. Any items not updated below remain the same as those provided on August 5, 2025.

Prior Target	Updated Target
Unit growth	12 new units	8 new units
Same-restaurant sales*	1% to 3%	(1%) to (1.5%)
Revenues**	5% to 7%	$730-733 million
Restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margin**	22.5% to 23%	21.0% to 21.5%
General and administrative expenses	$78 - $80 million	$72 - $75 million
Pre-opening expenses	$11 - $12 million	Approximately $9 million
Adjusted EBITDA**	Flat to Low single-digits	$94 - $98 million
*Our expected same-restaurant sales for the third quarter ended September 28, 2025, are an estimate based on information available to management as of the date of this release, and are subject to further changes upon completion of the company's standard quarter end closing procedures. **We are unable to reconcile the financial target for adjusted EBITDA growth and restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margin to net income/loss growth and operating income/loss margin, the respective corresponding U.S. GAAP measure, due to variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections and because not all information necessary to prepare the reconciliation is available to us without unreasonable efforts. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information because we cannot accurately predict all of the components of the adjusted calculations and the non-GAAP measure may be materially different than the GAAP measure. Prior targets for revenues and Adjusted EBITDA represented growth percentages.

Fiscal 2026 Development Outlook

Management expects to open 8 restaurants in fiscal 2026, which includes the company's first airport location (DFW). The net build cost average for these 8 restaurants is projected to be less than $5 million.

Posted In: PTLO