The QSR 50

    An inside look at the top 50 brands in quick service and fast casual.
    Special Report | August 2016

    Fast casual has stormed the QSR 50 in the last few years, with Panera Bread entering the top 10 and Chipotle close at its heels. That trend continued in 2015; Panera and Chipotle each padded their sales, with the latter leap-frogging both Sonic and KFC in the rankings. (Of course, Chipotle’s food-safety woes struck at the end of 2015, a sales hit that will likely be reflected in next year’s QSR 50). Elsewhere in fast casual, a pair of sandwich chains—Jersey Mike’s and Firehouse Subs—continued their incredible momentum up the list, while Wingstop similarly managed to jump multiple spots in the rankings.

    Meanwhile, legacy quick-service chains were a mixed bag in 2015. McDonald’s finally found its footing after years of disappointing sales returns, and Taco Bell managed to jump Wendy’s and solidify a spot in the QSR 50’s top five. But KFC ceded more ground in the chicken wars, slipping to spot No. 14 overall—only six spots and just over $1 billion in sales ahead of Popeyes, which enjoyed a major boost in 2015.

    Click column headers to sort
    Rank Company 2015 U.S. Systemwide Sales (millions) 2015 U.S. Average Sales per Unit (thousands) Number of Franchised Units in 2015 Number of Company Units in 2015 Total Units in 2015 Total Change in Units from 2014
    1 McDonald's $35,800.0 $2,500.0 12,899 1,360 14,259 -91
    2 Starbucks $13,300.0 $1,062.2 4,962 7,559 12,521 303
    3 Subway* $11,500.0 $424.3 27,103 0 27,103 145
    4 Burger King* $9,530.0 $1,337.4 7,074 52 7,126 -16
    5 Taco Bell $8,820.2 $1,460.0 5,227 894 6,121 170
    6 Wendy's* $8,811.9 $1,540.0 5,090 632 5,722 -58
    7 Dunkin' Donuts* $7,620.0 $903.8 8,392 39 8,431 349
    8 Chick-fil-A $6,825.9 $3,977.3 1,646 337 1,983 96
    9 Pizza Hut $5,703.8 $725.0 7,311 511 7,822 -109
    10 Panera Bread $4,900.0 $2,500.0 1,071 901 1,972 92
    11 Domino's Pizza $4,800.0 $900.0 4,816 384 5,200 133
    12 Chipotle* $4,501.2 $2,424.0 0 1,971 1,971 216
    13 Sonic $4,390.0 $1,200.0 3,139 387 3,526 41
    14 KFC $4,328.3 $1,000.0 4,064 206 4,270 -121
    15 Carl's Jr./Hardee's $3,661.3 $1,248.7 2,673 285 2,958 45
    16 Arby's $3,540.0 $1,073.0 2,210 1,004 3,214 -12
    17 Dairy Queen* $3,532.0 $783.0 4,509 2 4,511 -1
    18 Little Caesars*<sup>1</sup> $3,453.2 $815.0 3,626 611 4,237 212
    19 Jack in the Box $3,395.5 $1,510.0 1,836 413 2,249 -1
    20 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen $3,100.0 $1,458.5 2,469 70 2,539 160
    21 Papa John's $2,882.9 $892.8 2,681 707 3,388 48
    22 Panda Express $2,550.1 $1,487.0 85 1,705 1,790 61
    23 Jimmy John's Sandwiches $1,978.6 $877.1 2,354 51 2,405 296
    24 Whataburger $1,747.0 $2,530.0 119 672 791 17
    25 Zaxby's*<sup>1</sup> $1,576.4 $2,174.3 602 123 725 65
    26 Five Guys $1,319.5 $1,123.0 813 402 1,215 52
    27 Culver's $1,196.0 $2,183.8 552 7 559 31
    28 Bojangles' $1,153.0 $1,838.7 378 281 659 40
    29 Steak n Shake $1,032.4 $1,866.9 144 417 561 16
    30 Papa Murphy's $880.4 $623.5 1,369 127 1,496 35
    31 Church's Chicken $838.0 $729.0 881 250 1,131 -37
    32 Wingstop $821.2 $1,130.0 826 19 845 133
    33 Checkers/Rally's $776.1 $966.5 505 324 829 25
    34 Qdoba Mexican Eats $753.7 $1,169.0 339 322 661 23
    35 El Pollo Loco $753.4 $1,798.0 247 186 433 18
    36 Krispy Kreme* $708.1 $1,835.6 181 116 297 19
    37 Del Taco $700.2 $1,376.6 247 297 544 -3
    38 Tim Hortons*<sup>2</sup> $695.7 $1,143.0 881 3 884 0
    39 White Castle $691.3 $1,408.7 0 390 390 10
    40 Jersey Mike's Subs* $675.0 $645.3 1,006 40 1,046 189
    41 Firehouse Subs $648.5 $726.0 913 32 945 95
    42 Jason's Deli $643.6 $2,664.0 106 154 260 7
    43 Moe's Southwest Grill $638.1 $1,163.0 633 5 638 57
    44 Boston Market $617.9 $1,364.0 5 453 458 2
    45 In-N-Out Burger*<sup>1</sup> $613.2 $1,959.2 0 313 313 12
    46 Baskin-Robbins* $584.0 $233.3 2,493 10 2,503 19
    47 McAlister's Deli $547.7 $1,634.5 318 43 361 24
    48 Captain D's $531.7 $1,024.0 238 272 510 -1
    49 Auntie Anne's* $529.2 $500.1 1,238 14 1,252 59
    50 Jamba Juice* $524.5 $641.2 748 70 818 12

    * Includes figures estimated by QSR
    1 Numbers are projected by QSR based on past performance
    2 Includes 2014 unit counts