Subway, the privately held foot-long sandwich chain that has been exploring selling, put out quarterly sales results on Monday.
The company, founded by the late Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in the 60s, said its first-quarter same-store sales globally saw a year-over-year increase of 12.1%. The growth rate was just slightly smaller in North America, at 11.7%, according to Subway’s press release.
Subway pointed to its "continued focus on menu innovation, modernization of restaurants and improvements to the overall guest experience" for boosting sales around the world.
For digital sales, Subway also reported year-over-year jumps both globally and in North America. The former went up 11.4%, while the latter climbed 21.2%.
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The Wall Street Journal had reported in mid-April that upcoming financial performance metrics by the sandwich chain were expected to be strong. It cited unnamed sources.
Round two of bids for Subway from private equity and other entities could take place near the end of April, according to the outlet’s report from the time. The minimum valuation Subway reportedly wants to achieve is $10 billion.
Those offers coming in could be followed as early as late May by the company finding a buyer, the Journal reported.
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Subway first indicated it was indeed considering the possibility of selling in mid-February. At the time it said there was "no indication of timing" or any guarantee a sale would take place.
The company said earlier in the year its 2022 global same-store sales experienced a jump, rising over 9%. North American same-store sales specifically rose nearly 8% in comparison to the prior year.
The same day Subway announced its first-quarter sales, it also revealed a revamping of Subway Canada’s food offerings. It also recently signed a handful of "multi-unit" owner agreements that "have resulted in the consolidation and transfer of more than 230 existing restaurants thus far in 2023" and include renovation commitments, according to a press release.
Back in July, Subway rolled out a new "Subway Series" menu of one dozen options, as previously reported by FOX Business.
