Chick-fil-A bets on family ownership and a $1B global push over an IPO (interview)
CEO Andrew Cathy tells CNBC the chain will stay family-owned while revenue grew 14% to $10.3B in 2025, with 179 new restaurants and launches in Singapore.
What was changed
In an interview with CNBC published October 4, 2026, Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy said the family-owned chain has no plans for an initial public offering or any other outside investment, even as it expands across the US and abroad. 'We're able to plan for the quarter century, and we don't have to plan for the quarter,' Cathy said.
Cathy succeeded his father Dan as chief executive of the chain his grandfather S. Truett Cathy founded, taking over as inflation rocked the restaurant industry and new chicken rivals challenged its dominance. While McDonald's, Popeyes and KFC saw disappointing results as consumers grew selective, Cathy says Chick-fil-A's restaurants have not seen the same downturn: 'Our operators have done such a good job executing on the fundamentals and adding the hospitality to it.'
The privately held company does not report quarterly results, but franchise disclosures show 2025 revenue rose 14% to $10.3 billion and net income ticked up 1% to $1.05 billion; its roughly 3,000 locations generated $23.92 billion in system sales, making it the third-largest US restaurant by sales behind McDonald's and Starbucks.
Under Cathy it opened 179 restaurants last year, entered Canada, Singapore and the United Kingdom, launched a $1 billion international expansion plan and built Daybright, a beverage-focused concept from its venture arm — all while keeping tenets like the Sunday closure unchanged.
Why it worked
Private ownership removes quarterly market pressure while restaurant stocks broadly struggle — Jersey Mike's fell nearly 28% since its July IPO.
Growth stays 'calculated' and 'conservative', funded by the operators' execution rather than outside investors' expectations.
The family structure protects what the brand treats as non-negotiable, like closing on Sundays, while everything else evolves.
What can be applied
Patient capital changes the plan: private ownership lets a chain optimise for the quarter century — opening 179 stores a year without a quarterly stock to feed.
Aftermath
Cathy described a 'good year' with restaurants spared the industry's traffic slump; the $1 billion international plan and the Daybright concept remain the growth engines, with no IPO contemplated.