Here's Who Actually Owns Texas Roadhouse

Texas Roadhouse has made a big name for itself, recently overtaking Olive Garden as the most popular casual restaurant in the U.S. There's just something about being able to pick out your own hand-carved steaks, while enjoying those hot, freshly baked rolls with the chain's signature cinnamon honey butter, in a completely unpretentious and lively (some might say too lively) atmosphere. To whom does this steakhouse empire belong, you might be wondering. Who sits atop Texas Roadhouse Mountain? It isn't any one person, as it happens — the restaurant chain is publicly traded, therefore it is technically "owned" by a number of shareholders under Texas Roadhouse, Incorporated.

Yes, investors such as BlackRock Advisors LLC, Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Co., and AllianceBernstein LP have some of the largest shares in the Texas Roadhouse company, at 9.435%, 9.388%, and 4.643%, respectively. Because no single shareholder has a majority stake in Texas Roadhouse, it's overseen by a nine-person board of directors and is run under the management of executive leaders, like the current CEO, Gerald L. Morgan, and President Regina A. Tobin.

But ownership of the company has also trickled down in one form from the executive bigwigs to what the company calls "managing partners," or its individual owner-operators. The managing partners buy into their specific restaurant — literally, to the tune of $25,000 — and then receive 10% of the profits for running the outfit. The better the location does, the more money goes into the managing partner's pocket.

When W. Kent Taylor opened the doors to his first Texas Roadhouse in 1993, he could not have known that the company would grow to encompass over 800 restaurants, spread across almost all 50 states, as well as 10 other countries, nor that it would also include two other chains, including Bubba's 33 and its fast-casual concept you might not have heard of, Jaggers. For over 10 years, Taylor would maintain decision-making control over the company he founded, influencing Texas Roadhouse and its brand in every possible way, like its from-scratch ethos and raucous atmosphere.

But in 2004, the company went public, issuing an IPO (initial public offering) and transitioning from a privately-held entity to one publicly traded on the stock market. As Texas Roadhouse grew throughout the 2010s, it caught the eye of major investors like BlackRock, the world's largest manager of assets, as well as several other firms. BlackRock, in particular, purchased an additional nearly 500,000 shares of the steakhouse chain in 2024, indicating a strong belief in the company's financial security, which has since proven sound, as it reported over a 4% increase in restaurant sales between 2024 and 2025.