Kyochon vs bhc: 1.2x Apart in Revenue, 3.7x Apart in Operating Margin

Chicken franchise headquarters earn money by supplying goods such as chicken and sauces to their franchisees. According to 2025 disclosures, the profit they keep differs greatly, even though the business model is the same.

Glossary: Cost of sales is the money spent buying or making the goods and products sold. SG&A (selling, general and administrative expenses) is the money spent running the company, such as personnel costs, rent and advertising. Operating profit is the profit from the core business, i.e., revenue minus these two items, and operating margin is operating profit divided by revenue. Separate financial statements cover only the company itself, while consolidated financial statements include subsidiaries.

USD figures are converted at KRW 1,450 = USD 1.

Kyochon (Kyochon F&B, separate)

Revenue $342.3m · Operating profit $24.6m (7.2%)

• Cost of sales $248m (72.4%): 99.5% is purchases of goods and raw materials
• SG&A $69.7m (20.4%)
  • Personnel 8.1% / Freight and fees 4.7% / Advertising and other 7.5%

bhc (Dining Brands Group, separate)

Revenue $423.9m · Operating profit $113.4m (26.8%)

• Cost of sales $266.9m (63.0%): purchases of goods and raw materials 58.8%, freight and other 4.2%
• SG&A $43.5m (10.3%)
  • Personnel 4.8% / Advertising and other 5.5%

Key Takeaways

1. bhc’s revenue is 1.2x Kyochon’s, and its operating margin is 3.7x (26.8% vs 7.2%).
2. The biggest difference is raw material purchases. Purchases of goods and raw materials as a share of revenue are 58.8% at bhc and 72.1% at Kyochon, a gap of more than 13%p.
3. The SG&A ratio is also 10.3% at bhc and 20.4% at Kyochon, with bhc at about half the level. Personnel costs, including those booked in cost of sales, are 4.6% vs 8.3% of revenue.
4. Freight costs are similar at 2.5% (bhc) and 2.3% (Kyochon) of revenue, but bhc books them in cost of sales while Kyochon books them in SG&A. This should be taken into account when comparing cost-of-sales ratios and SG&A ratios.
5. Kyochon’s operating profit grew 2.3x in one year. Its operating margin rose from 3.5% in 2024 to 7.2% in 2025, while bhc’s rose from 26.1% to 26.8%.

In M&A, when looking at a franchise headquarters, it is also common to examine the supply margin to franchisees together with the headquarters’ operating cost structure.

Limitations of the Analysis

• Based on 2025 separate financial statements (Kyochon’s annual report and the audit report of Dining Brands Group, the operator of bhc); results of subsidiaries are not included.
• Dining Brands Group’s separate results may include revenue from brands other than bhc operated by the same legal entity.
• For Kyochon, raw material purchases were calculated by treating the full amount of purchases of goods and raw materials under the classification by nature as cost of sales.
• Some items have been grouped together for readability.
• This is a comparison of cost structures based on disclosed figures, not an investment recommendation or a corporate valuation.

Source: Financial Supervisory Service DART

• Kyochon F&B Co., Ltd. 2025 Annual Report (Receipt No. 20260323000879)
• Dining Brands Group Co., Ltd. 2025 Audit Report (Receipt No. 20260410001324) Ratios are relative to each company’s revenue.