Who Owns Zaxby's?
Updated onExplore the ownership hierarchy of Zaxby's. See parent companies, holding structures, and ultimate controllers.
Ownership Chain
Zaxby's
Zaxby's is a private American fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches, and salads, operating primarily in the Southern United States.
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company serving corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide.
Zaxby's
Zaxby's is a private American fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches, and salads, operating primarily in the Southern United States.
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company serving corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide.
Major Shareholders
Zaxby's
Major Shareholders
| Name | Type | Ownership | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
Investment funds managed by Goldman Sachs (Merchant Banking Division) Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division led a private‑equity deal announced in November 2020 to acquire a significant stake in Zaxby’s Operating Company L.P., making Goldman‑managed funds a controlling or co‑controlling owner of the Zaxby’s franchisor. Industry M&A databases subsequently describe Zaxby’s as a PE‑backed company owned by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking. Based on Forbes’ reporting that co‑founder Tony Townley sold his entire stake and Zach McLeroy sold a 20% stake in the business in 2020, analysts generally infer that institutional investors (primarily Goldman Sachs and Leonard Green) together hold roughly 70% of the equity, though the precise split and current percentage for Goldman Sachs are not publicly disclosed. | Institutional | — | Dec 2025 |
Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. A QSR Magazine interview with Zaxby’s chief development officer notes that in late December 2020 the company sold a significant portion of its equity to both Goldman Sachs and Leonard Green, allowing co‑founder Tony Townley to exit while Zach McLeroy remained in leadership. Franchise Times’ 2025 coverage of Leonard Green’s acquisition of Crunch Fitness explicitly describes Zaxby’s as one of Leonard Green’s existing franchise investment portfolio companies, confirming Leonard Green as a significant private‑equity owner of Zaxby’s as of 2025, though its exact percentage is not disclosed. | Institutional | — | Apr 2025 |
Zach McLeroy Zach McLeroy co‑founded Zaxby’s in 1990 and remains its chairman. Forbes’ 2025 billionaire profile on McLeroy states that in 2020 he sold a 20% stake in Zaxby’s to Goldman Sachs but still owns about 30% of the business, while his co‑founder Tony Townley sold his entire stake at that time. Subsequent reporting on Zaxby’s leadership and franchise expansion continues to describe McLeroy as chairman rather than CEO, consistent with his role as a significant minority owner alongside private‑equity sponsors. | Founder | 30.0% | Dec 2025 |
Goldman Sachs
Major Shareholders
| Name | Type | Ownership | Voting | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Vanguard Group, Inc. Approximate stake in Goldman Sachs common stock held via Vanguard-managed funds, based on latest available 13F institutional holdings summarized by WallStreetZen and Nasdaq. | Institutional | 9.5% | 9.5% | — |
BlackRock, Inc. Large index and active asset manager; holds roughly 7–8% of Goldman Sachs common stock through its funds, per aggregated institutional ownership data. | Institutional | 7.7% | 7.7% | — |
State Street Corporation (incl. State Street Global Advisors) Through State Street Global Advisors and related entities, holds about 6–6.5% of Goldman Sachs shares, according to recent institutional holder summaries. | Institutional | 6.4% | 6.4% | — |
Morgan Stanley (including Eaton Vance and affiliated asset managers) Owns on the order of 2½% of Goldman Sachs via Morgan Stanley and Eaton Vance-managed portfolios, based on compiled 13F filings. | Institutional | 2.6% | 2.6% | — |
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (J.P. Morgan Asset Management) J.P. Morgan’s asset-management arms collectively report holding a bit over 2% of Goldman Sachs stock. | Institutional | 2.3% | 2.3% | — |
Geode Capital Management, LLC Quantitative index manager sub-advising many Vanguard funds; beneficial owner of slightly over 2% of Goldman Sachs shares. | Institutional | 2.2% | 2.2% | — |
Fisher Asset Management, LLC Active global asset manager (Fisher Investments) holding a bit more than 2% of Goldman Sachs, per institutional holder breakdowns. | Institutional | 2.2% | 2.2% | — |
Bank of America Corporation Through Merrill and other units, Bank of America reports owning just under 2% of Goldman Sachs common stock. | Institutional | 1.9% | 1.9% | — |
Capital World Investors (Capital Group) Capital Group’s Capital World Investors arm is disclosed as owning roughly 1.4% of Goldman Sachs. | Institutional | 1.4% | 1.4% | — |
FMR LLC (Fidelity Investments) Parent of Fidelity mutual funds; holds a little over 1% of Goldman Sachs, according to ownership summaries. | Institutional | 1.2% | 1.2% | — |
Henry M. Paulson Jr. Former Goldman Sachs CEO and former U.S. Treasury Secretary; identified as the largest individual Goldman Sachs shareholder with about 1.1% of shares (≈3.23M shares). | Individual | 1.1% | 1.1% | — |
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