Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), the company behind everyone’s favorite fast-food brand Jollibee, has shared how their business performed during the first three months of 2026. According to their official report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 11, 2026, the company saw strong sales growth but faced challenges with higher costs.

What is Jollibee Foods Corporation?

Think of Jollibee Foods Corporation as the parent company that owns not just Jollibee, but many other restaurant brands you might know. They have 20 different restaurant brands with over 10,400 stores around the world in 33 countries! Besides Jollibee, they also own Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, and have shares in other brands like The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Compose Coffee, and Highlands Coffee.

The Good News: More Sales and More Stores

According to the company’s report, their systemwide sales (which means all the money from all their stores combined) grew by 10.3% compared to the same period last year. This is like getting Php110.30 this year when you only got Php100 last year.

Here’s how different parts of their business did:

• Philippines stores: Sales went up by 8%
• International stores: Sales increased by 13.5%
• Jollibee brand worldwide: Sales grew by 10.7%

The company opened 181 new stores during this quarter, with 149 of them in other countries. Mang Inasal did especially well with a 16.1% sales increase.

Understanding the Numbers

The company earned Php76.5 billion in revenues (the money they made from selling food). However, their net income (the profit left after paying all the bills) was Php1.473 billion, which is actually 38.8% less than what they made in the same period last year.

Their earnings per share dropped from Php2.069 to Php1.234. This number is important because it shows how much profit each share of JFC stock made. If you own one share of JFC, your share of the company’s profit for this quarter was Php1.234.

The Challenge: Rising Costs

So why did profits go down even though sales went up? The company explained that their costs increased by 11.7%. This happened because of “inflationary pressures” and “geopolitical developments” – which in simple terms means things like ingredients, supplies, and materials became more expensive because of world events and rising prices everywhere.

Imagine if you run a lemonade stand and suddenly lemons cost twice as much. Even if you sell more lemonade, you might actually earn less money because you’re spending more to make each glass.

The company’s operating income (another measure of profit) fell by 18.2% to Php3.9 billion. Their EBITDA (a measure that shows how much money a company makes from its regular business) decreased by 4.9%.

What the Company Leaders Say

Ernesto Tanmantiong, the CEO (chief executive officer, like the main boss) of JFC, said they’re happy with how customers continue to love their food. He mentioned they’re taking steps to deal with the cost challenges, including raising some prices starting in the second quarter and managing costs more carefully.

Richard Shin, the Chief Financial Officer, explained that they see these cost problems as temporary and manageable. He said customer demand remains healthy, which is good news.

Special Actions the Company Took

The company made some strategic moves during this period:

• They’re changing some of their Smashburger stores to make them more profitable
• In China, they’re switching to a franchise model (where other people own and run the stores but pay to use the brand name), which requires less money to run
• They completed buying “Shabu All Day,” Korea’s biggest all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant chain, which will add about 170 stores to their network
• Compose Coffee opened its first store in Taiwan, and it was very popular on opening day!

Dividends for Shareholders

On April 16, 2026, the company’s Board of Directors approved giving Php1.33 per share as dividends to shareholders. This means if you own JFC stock, you’ll receive cash for each share you own. The payment was scheduled for May 21, 2026.

Awards and Recognition

Despite the profit challenges, JFC’s brands continued to receive recognition:

• Jollibee is the only Philippine brand among the world’s top 25 most valuable restaurant brands
• Jollibee ranked as the fifth-strongest restaurant brand worldwide by Brand Finance
• Jollibee Vietnam became the No. 1 quick-service restaurant in Vietnam according to Euromonitor International
• Tim Ho Wan received a Michelin Guide distinction for the 17th year in a row

Looking Forward

The company mentioned they’re reviewing their plans for 2026, including how many new stores to open and how much money to spend, because of the unexpected cost increases. However, they remain confident about their long-term growth and say customer demand stays strong across their markets.

JFC stock trades on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “JFC.” The company is headquartered at the 10th Floor, Jollibee Plaza Building, F. Ortigas Jr. Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.