Guzman y Gomez to cease trading immediately as the Aussie fast-food chain exits the US

By KAAREN MORRISSEY FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 01:58, 22 May 2026 | Updated: 02:07, 22 May 2026 An Aussie-born Mexican-themed fast food chain is pulling out of the United States in a spectacular turnaround on its American market ambitions. Stock exchange-listed Guzman y Gomez made the announcement on Friday, saying its restaurants in Chicago will cease trading immediately. The decision was made because the financial performance of the US business was not acceptable or meeting targets. 'I have always been confident in the differentiation of our food and guest experience, however this was not translating to an improvement in sales momentum,' founder and co-chief executive Steven Marks said. Guzman's US experiment lasted about six years, after it opened its first store in Chicago in January 2020. 'I realised this was going to take significantly more time and capital than we had expected,' Mr Marks said. 'The board and I have concluded that the business was unlikely to deliver the performance that would justify continued investment of shareholder capital.' In February, Guzman reported a bottom-line net profit of $10.6 million, up almost 45 per cent, on revenue of $261.2million, for the first half of its financial year. The decision was made because the financial performance of the US business was not acceptable or meeting targets, founder and co-executive Steven Marks explained However, total cash earnings came in at $33million, missing market forecasts of between $34.9 million and $35.9 million. Weighing on the result was an $8.3million slump in the equivalent line item for its US business, as new restaurants dragged on margins, despite global network sales swelling 18 per cent to $681.8 million. Its core Australian business generated network sales of $673.6million and earnings of $41.2million. Guzman on Friday reiterated that its Australian operation was still growing strongly. 'We have a long runway ahead of us in Australia, as we progress to our long-term target of 1,000 restaurants,' Mr Marks said. Guzman still has operations in Singapore and Japan, under a master franchise arrangement. 'We are very proud of our international partners in Singapore and Japan and see substantial growth ahead in each market,' Mr Marks said. 'Today's decision is about the US specifically - it is not a statement about GYG's global potential.' In February, Guzman reported a bottom-line net profit of $10.6 million, up almost 45 per cent, on revenue of $261.2million, for the first half of its financial year (pictured, a store in NSW) The US exit is expected to weigh on its full-year profit and loss line, with a one-off charge of between $US30million and $US40million. On Thursday, RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner upgraded Guzman's stock to 'outperform' with a price target of $22, on the strength of its Australian business and expansion opportunities beyond 1,000 stores. Its shares ended on Thursday at $18, giving it a market value of $1.8billion. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.