Chick-fil-A Hits $10.3 Billion in Revenue While Staying a Family Business, CEO Says

Chick-fil-A is proving that a family business can still outgrow nearly every rival in the restaurant industry without ever ringing a bell on Wall Street. The Atlanta-based chicken chain pulled in $10.3 billion in revenue last year, a 14% jump, and net income of $1.05 billion, according to franchise disclosures reviewed by CNBC. That performance, paired with $23.92 billion in systemwide sales across roughly 3,000 locations, makes it the third-largest restaurant chain in the country by sales, trailing only McDonald’s and Starbucks.

Yet CEO Andrew Cathy, who took over from his father Dan nearly five years ago, insists the company has no interest in chasing the kind of windfall an initial public offering could bring. “We’re able to plan for the quarter century, and we don’t have to plan for the quarter,” Cathy told CNBC, describing the company’s growth strategy as “calculated” and “conservative” even as it pushes into new international markets.

Why staying a family business still works

Chick-fil-A was founded by Cathy’s grandfather, S. Truett Cathy, and has remained privately held and family-controlled ever since. That structure means the company doesn’t report quarterly earnings to shareholders or face pressure to hit short-term growth targets — a freedom Cathy says lets leadership focus on decades-long plans rather than fiscal quarters.

The timing of that philosophy looks especially shrewd given how public restaurant stocks have performed this year. Shares of Jersey Mike’s have dropped nearly 28% since its July IPO, and Dunkin’ parent Inspire Brands is reportedly holding off on going public until the sector’s fortunes improve. For a family business like Chick-fil-A, staying out of public markets has become less a sentimental choice and more a practical advantage.

It also hasn’t slowed expansion. The chain opened 179 new restaurants last year and has launched operations in Canada, the United Kingdom and Singapore in recent years, part of a $1 billion international growth plan. Its venture arm has also rolled out Daybright, a beverage-focused concept aimed at capturing a different kind of customer than the flagship chicken sandwich shops.

Navigating industry headwinds

The broader restaurant industry has had a rough stretch. Elevated costs and increasingly selective consumers have hurt traffic at McDonald’s, Popeyes, KFC and other major chains. Cathy acknowledged the pressure but said Chick-fil-A’s locations haven’t seen the same slump. “This has been a good year,” he said. “Our operators have done such a good job executing on the fundamentals and adding the hospitality to it.”

That focus on hospitality is central to how Cathy frames the balance between legacy and growth. He compared running the business to driving a race car: “There’s a reason that the windshield’s bigger than the rearview mirror. It’s important for the rear view to be grounded on where you are, and there are things that we think about our purpose, our mission, that won’t change, but everything else we have to be able to evolve and change.”

Some traditions are untouchable — Chick-fil-A’s restaurants will continue closing on Sundays, a policy in place since the company’s founding. Others, like the specifics of in-store hospitality, are expected to shift as customer habits evolve, particularly around how people order and receive food. Cathy said the chain is taking a “human plus” approach to new technology, exploring tools like artificial intelligence and even drone delivery without abandoning the personal service that has defined its brand.

As competitors chase public listings or restructure under private equity ownership, Chick-fil-A’s choice to remain a family business stands out as increasingly rare among chains of its size. For Cathy, that rarity is the point — a bet that long-term thinking, not quarterly results, is what keeps the chain growing while so many rivals stumble.

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