Jollibee Foods Corp., the local fast-food giant that has grown into one of Asia’s largest restaurant operators, is forecasting record operating profits this year as it pivots toward leaner spending model and aggressive store expansion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Jollibee said the company expects operating income to climb between 15 percent and 18 percent in 2026.

The optimistic outlook comes even as the group slashes its capital expenditure budget by as much as 28 percent amid shift toward higher capital efficiency and disciplined growth.

Jollibee is projecting system-wide sales—a measure of all sales to consumers from both company-owned and franchised stores—to grow eight percent to 12 percent this year.

Same-store sales, a key industry metric, are estimated to rise by four percent to six percent. To fuel this growth, the company plans to open between 1,200 and 1,300 new outlets, representing a network expansion of five percent to 10 percent.

Despite the ambitious rollout, Jollibee is tightening its belt on spending. Capital expenditures for 2026 are pegged at ₱13 billion to ₱16 billion, a significant reduction from the ₱18.0 billion to ₱21.0 billion allocated in the previous year.

Richard Shin, Jollibee chief financial and risk officer, said the strategy relies on “strong cash generation and disciplined capital allocation” to maintain top-line momentum.

The 2026 targets follow a robust performance in 2025, where Jollibee saw attributable net income rise 5.4 percent to ₱10.9 billion.

Operating income for that year jumped 19.3 percent to ₱20.1 billion, aided by a 30-basis-point improvement in margins as the company optimized administrative and advertising costs.

The fourth quarter of 2025 was particularly strong, with operating income surging nearly 42 percent to ₱4.1 billion, the highest quarterly result in the company's history.

Ernesto Tanmantiong, Jollibee chief executive officer noted the outsized performance of the company’s coffee and tea segment, which saw system-wide sales soar 44.9 percent last year.

The international business also remains a primary engine for the group. In Vietnam, Jollibee’s largest market outside the Philippines, sales surged 40.4 percent, while the United States business grew by 17.3 percent. The acquisition-heavy strategy of recent years also bore fruit via Compose Coffee, which saw sales skyrocket 217 percent in 2025.

In the Philippines, the home market remained resilient. System-wide sales grew 9.6 percent last year, led by the flagship Jollibee brand and the chicken rotisserie chain Mang Inasal.

While higher financing costs and tax provisions tempered the net income growth rate relative to operating profits, Tanmantiong said the company enters 2026 focused on sustaining the “long-term growth runway” established by the record 1,126 store openings completed last year.