How to buy Chick-fil-A stock?

Are you wondering how to invest in Chick-fil-A Stock? Chick-fil-A is one of the largest American fast-food chains with chicken sandwiches as its speciality. Their delicious food and excellent customer service make it one of the nation’s favorites. 

Let’s look at whether investing in Chick-fil-A stock is a good option. 

Chick-fil-A Overview

Chick-Fil-A was named America’s favorite restaurant chain for the sixth straight year by the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index. It scored 84 (out of 100) in a ranking determined by about half a million consumers evaluating it on factors such as order accuracy, food quality, speed of service and mobile app reliability. It scored four points more than No. 2 Chipotle and three points more than the top full-service restaurant, LongHorn Steakhouse, despite being closed on Sundays.

How was Chick-fil-A started?

In 1946, Truett Cathy, a devout Southern Baptist, started Dwarf Grill, a restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. It was later rebranded to Chick-fil-A in 1967 after the founder discovered a method to create a boneless chicken sandwich quickly. The restaurant chain’s name is derived from “chicken fillet,” with the “A” signifying top-quality meat, according to the restaurant. 

The company is heavily influenced by the late founder Truett Cathy’s Christian values. All Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed for business on Sundays as a commitment to Sunday Sabbatarianism. It was also to make time for Chick-fil-A Operators and their Restaurant employees to rest, spend time with family and friends, and worship.

Chick-fil-A’s Success

Chick-fil-A’s success can be attributed to the company policy of politeness towards guests as well as a simple menu, which is rarely changed. It added drive-thru lanes, dispatched outdoor order-takers with tablets, and expanded both curbside pickup and third-party delivery. Today, the company operates more than 2,605 restaurants, primarily in the United States, and is also present in Canada and the U.K. Chick-fil-A is the third-largest restaurant chain in the U.S. In 2020, Chick-fil-A accounted for total system-wide sales of $13.7 billion in the U.S. from franchised and company-operated restaurants, up from the previous year’s total of $12.2 billion.

How much does it cost to start a Chick-fil-A franchise?

Chick-fil-A calls the people who run its restaurant “operators”. Operators don’t own or receive any equity in their businesses. Chick-fil-A picks the restaurant’s location and then owns the restaurant. 

Operators cannot open multiple locations, sell their locations or pass them on to the next generation, limiting franchisees’ potential profits. If you want to buy a franchise with the intention of later selling it, forget about Chick-fil-A.

Chick-fil-A has no minimum net worth requirement, and all you have to do is pay a franchise fee of $10K, which is the lowest franchise fee of any chain and is the lowest total investment. Compare this with McDonald’s, which costs above $2 million to open.  

Chick-fil-A charges a low franchise fee because it covers nearly the entire cost of opening a new restaurant, which is anywhere between $343k to $2m. However, the catch is that it charges a high royalty fee of 15% of sales + 50% of any profit.

The low price tag to start a franchise makes Chick-fil-A accessible, while the low acceptance rates make it successful. Chick-fil-A requires the franchise owner to be free of any other active business ventures and operate the restaurant on a full-time, hands-on basis. It cannot be a passive income stream, and you would need to give the franchise full attention. 

Each year, Chick-fil-A accepts about 75 to 80 new franchises each year, despite receiving around 20,000 applications annually. Less than .5% of applications are approved.

How much does a Chick-fil-A franchise make?

The average Chick-fil-A makes about $4.4 million in sales per year. This is $1.7 million more than Whataburger. It makes more per restaurant than McDonald’s, Subway and Starbucks combined, all while being closed every Sunday. 

How to buy Chick-fil-A’s stock?

With such incredible sales figures, buying Chick-fil-A stock would definitely be profitable. However, you can’t buy Chick-fil-A stock since Chick-fil-A is a privately held company. 

Chick-fil-A stock price

Since Chick-fil-A is not a public company, it is not listed on the stock exchange, and it’s not possible to estimate Chick-fil-A’s stock price.

Chick-fil-A stock symbol

We don’t have a Chick-fil-A stock ticker because Chick-fil-A is a private company and is not listed on the stock exchange.

If you want to invest in Chick-fil-A stock, you would need to wait until Chick-fil-A issues an IPO and goes public.

Will Chick-fil-A ever go public?

Going public seems out of the question for Chick-fil-A, since its founder, Before he died in 2014, the founder Truett Cathy, made his children sign a contract before he died in 2014 promising to keep Chick-fil-A a privately held company, although he did say that they could sell it. Chick-fil-A would do very well and would increase its profitability if it goes public, but it is against the founder’s wishes, and his family is following his wishes. Changing the way the company is run may bring in additional profits, but then it would change the fabric of the company, and Chick-fil-A would no longer be unique. 

Final Thoughts

Although you can’t buy Chick-fil-A stock, you can invest in any of the competitor stocks of Chick-fil-A such as McDonald’s, Yum! Brands or Restaurant Brands International, which are great investments.