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.
| 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 | $782.97 | 4,509 | 2 | 4,511 | -1 |
| 18 | Little Caesars*^1 | $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*^1 | $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*^2 | $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*^1 | $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 |
