Good morning. Chickenjoy—its crispy, juicy fried hen—and Jolly Spaghetti are signature menu gadgets at Jollibee, a Filipino fast-food chain that’s constructing a rising fan base within the U.S. Now, the corporate is setting its sights on Wall Road.
The Philippines-based Jollibee Meals Company (JFC), the restaurant’s father or mother firm, disclosed earlier this month that it plans to spin off its worldwide operations and pursue a U.S. preliminary public providing for that enterprise. The contemplated spin-off and itemizing are focused for late 2027, leaving “quite a bit of time ahead of us for the work to be done,” its international chief monetary officer, Richard Shin, stated throughout a Jan. 14 media roundtable.
JFC, which incorporates restaurant manufacturers equivalent to Smashburger and The Espresso Bean & Tea Leaf, is at present traded as a single group on the Philippine Inventory Trade and operates in 33 international locations. Over the previous 15 quarters, JFC’s worldwide community has posted a 26.7% compound annual progress charge, outpacing the group’s total 15.1% charge of growth. The separation displays more and more distinct strategic profiles for the home and worldwide companies, Shin stated.
In March 2025, Jollibee launched its first U.S. franchising program. After opening its first North American location in 1998 in Daly Metropolis, California, the model has since expanded to greater than 100 areas throughout the U.S. and Canada as of early 2026.
Why go the route of a U.S. IPO? “I think there’s a fact that we can all agree on: the U.S. capital markets have deep investor-based experience in valuing global consumer and restaurant growth companies,” Shin stated on the decision.
Many such firms are nonetheless rising into their potential but are sometimes rewarded with increased multiples and valuations, he stated. Whereas that consequence shouldn’t be assured for JFC, a U.S. itemizing affords higher capital depth, liquidity, and broader analyst protection, with any last determination topic to valuation and required approvals, he added.
The IPO market within the U.S. is heating up once more, Fortune’s Jeff John Roberts writes in a brand new characteristic article. “While 2026 will almost certainly not match the banner year of 1999, which saw 476 companies go public, investors should have far more choices than they did four years ago, when just 38 firms held an IPO,” he writes.
Shin additionally framed the separation of JFC by way of simplifying how buyers assess the company, noting the group contains companies at completely different levels of their life cycles, with various returns and alternatives. Distinct home and worldwide entities, he prompt, might supply buyers clearer, extra focused funding choices because the strategic profiles of the 2 segments proceed to diverge.
Causes for pursuing the separation embody improved transparency, self-discipline in capital allocation, execution towards the expansion technique, and the flexibility to draw an investor base aligned with the danger–return profile of every enterprise moderately than being judged solely on short-term monetary metrics, he stated.
“The transaction is aligned with the Jollibee Group’s long-term value creation strategy,” Shin stated.
With its eyes on Wall Road, Jollibee is betting that international style and investor urge for food shall be on its aspect.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
