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A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt. According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.
The historical rank and industry rank for Potbelly's Debt-to-EBITDA or its related term are showing as below:
PBPB's Debt-to-EBITDA is not ranked *
in the Restaurants industry.
Industry Median: 2.9 * Ranked among companies with meaningful Debt-to-EBITDA only.
A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt.
According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.
Potbelly Debt-to-EBITDA Related Terms
Potbelly Debt-to-EBITDA Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Potbelly's Debt-to-EBITDA can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
PBPB vs BRCB, NATH, VENU: Debt-to-EBITDA Comparison
For the Restaurants subindustry, Potbelly's Debt-to-EBITDA, along with its competitors' market caps and Debt-to-EBITDA data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Potbelly Debt-to-EBITDA vs Restaurants Industry
For the Restaurants industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Potbelly's Debt-to-EBITDA distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Potbelly's Debt-to-EBITDA falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
In the calculation of annual Debt-to-EBITDA, the EBITDA of the last fiscal year is used. In calculating the annualized quarterly data,
the EBITDA data used here is four times the quarterly (Jun. 2025) EBITDA data.
Potbelly (PBPB) has a Debt-to-EBITDA of 4.84 as of Jun. 2025. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Potbelly.
Is Potbelly's Debt-to-EBITDA too high?
Potbelly's current Debt-to-EBITDA is 4.84. The Restaurants industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.90. Potbelly's value of 4.84 is 66.9% above this industry median. Overall, Potbelly has a GF Score™ of 9/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Potbelly's Debt-to-EBITDA compare to BRCB and NATH?
Potbelly's Debt-to-EBITDA of 4.84 can be compared against companies in the Restaurants industry. The industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.90. Potbelly's value of 4.84 is 66.9% above this benchmark. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Debt-to-EBITDA for a Restaurants company?
The median Debt-to-EBITDA among Restaurants companies is 2.90, based on 301 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Debt-to-EBITDA significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Debt-to-EBITDA should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Potbelly's current Debt-to-EBITDA of 4.84 is 66.9% above the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Debt-to-EBITDA mean?
A high Debt-to-EBITDA can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Potbelly. For the Restaurants industry, the median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.90 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Potbelly's current Debt-to-EBITDA is 4.84. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Potbelly stock overvalued right now?
Potbelly (PBPB) has a current Debt-to-EBITDA of 4.84. The current Debt-to-EBITDA is 4.84 and 66.9% above the Restaurants industry median of 2.90. Potbelly's overall GF Score™ is 9/100. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Debt-to-EBITDA calculated?
Debt-to-EBITDA is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Potbelly (PBPB), the current Debt-to-EBITDA is 4.84 as of Jun. 2025. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Potbelly Corp owns and franchises hundreds of limited-service restaurants specializing in sandwiches and salads, shakes. The menu includes toasty sandwiches, signature salads, soups, chili, sides, desserts, and, in breakfast locations it serves breakfast sandwiches and steel-cut oatmeal. majority of its locations are company-owned and located in the United States, with Illinois and Texas housing far more locations than any other state. The company has franchise partners in a number of countries. Excluding the United States, its franchises are in the Middle East.
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