Jollibee shares surge after the Filipino fried chicken chain says it’ll spin off its ‘higher-growth but more volatile’ global business

Shares in fast food chain Jollibee surged by over 14% on Tuesday, its largest jump since 2008, after it announced that it would split its domestic and overseas businesses. The company also hopes to list its international arm in the U.S. by late 2027. Jollibee shares, which trade in the Philippines, rose by an additional 7.6% on Wednesday.

In a statement filed to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Jollibee said the splitting of its two business arms will sharpen the strategic focus of each, allowing investors to differentiate between its “stable, cash-generative Philippine business” and its “higher-growth but more volatile international operations”.

Jollibee dominates the Filipino fast food market. In addition to its flagship fried chicken Jollibee, it also operates other brands like barbecue chain Mang Inasal and Chinese chain Chowking, as well as the local franchise for foreign brands like Burger King. 

Yet the Filipino food chain is now setting its sights on becoming a global powerhouse, competing with the likes of McDonald’s and Yum Brands. Jollibee opened its first international store in Singapore in 1985, and its first U.S. store in 1998 in Daly City, California, where there was a large Filipino-American population. It has since expanded to 81 stores across fifteen states, including Texas, Florida, Nevada, New York and Washington, adding to a global footprint across Asia, North America, the Middle East, and Oceania.

Since the early 2000s, the Jollibee group has also acquired foreign brands, like Smashburger, Tim Ho Wan and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Still, just over 75% of the company’s operating income is earned in the Filipino market, according to the company’s latest quarterly earnings report. Some global businesses, like Jollibee’s coffee and tea chains, as well as burger outlet Smashburger, have struggled with intense competition and low profitability.

Global expansion

Jollibee was founded in 1975 by Filipino businessman Tony Tan Caktiong, in Cubao, Quezon City. Though it first opened as an ice cream parlor, the restaurant quickly added hot meals like burgers and pasta to meet customer appetites. 

In 2024, Jollibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong told Fortune his goal was for the firm to become one of the world’s top five restaurant companies by market cap. “We said we had to be the No. 1 Asian food company in Asia. And then when we were again about to achieve that, we set our vision to the world arena.”

As of September, the conglomerate owns 10,304 stores—more than half of which operate in locations outside the Philippines. The portion of its revenue generated abroad has also been increasing steadily, from 21% in 2017 to 43% in 2025.

With $4.71 billion in annual revenue, Jollibee is currently No. 79 on the 2025 Fortune Southeast Asia 500, a jump of 7 spots from the year before. It’s the ninth-highest-ranked Filipino company on the list.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com