In 2012, Chick-fil-A surpassed KFC to become the best-selling chicken chain, Jimmy John’s and Five Guys joined the billion-dollar-brands club, and fast-growing Wingstop and Moe’s Southwest Grill climbed into the limited-service industry’s upper echelon for the first time. McDonald’s, meanwhile, maintained its stranglehold on the No. 1 position, nearly tripling runner-up Subway’s domestic sales. Dig deep into the data driving the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries with this year’s QSR 50.
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| Rank | Segment | Chain | 2012 Sales | 2012 Average Sales | 2012 Franchise Units | 2012 Company Units | 2012 Total Units | 2011 Unit Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | burger | McDonald's | $35,600.0 | $2,600.0 | 12,605 | 1,552 | 14,157 | 59 |
| 2 | sandwich | Subway* | $12,100.0 | $481.0 | 25,549 | 0 | 25,549 | 956 |
| 3 | snack | Starbucks*^1 | $10,600.0 | $1,223.0 | 4,262 | 6,866 | 11,128 | 341 |
| 4 | burger | Wendy's^2 | $8,600.0 | $1,483.8 | 4,528 | 1,289 | 5,817 | -34 |
| 5 | burger | Burger King* | $8,587.0 | $1,195.0 | 7,000 | 183 | 7,183 | -21 |
| 6 | mexican | Taco Bell | $7,478.0 | $1,363.0 | 4,218 | 1,044 | 5,262 | 25 |
| 7 | snack | Dunkin' Donuts | $6,264.2 | $857.4 | 7,278 | 28 | 7,306 | 291 |
| 8 | pizza/pasta | Pizza Hut | $5,666.0 | $883.0 | 5,757 | 452 | 6,209 | 156 |
| 9 | chicken | Chick-fil-A | $4,621.1 | $3,157.9 | 1,391 | 292 | 1,683 | 77 |
| 10 | chicken | KFC | $4,459.0 | $957.0 | 4,319 | 237 | 4,556 | -162 |
| 11 | sandwich | Panera Bread | $3,861.0 | $2,427.2 | 843 | 809 | 1,652 | 111 |
| 12 | burger | Sonic Drive-In | $3,790.7 | $1,074.0 | 3,147 | 409 | 3,556 | -5 |
| 13 | pizza/pasta | Domino's Pizza | $3,500.0 | $710.2 | 4,540 | 388 | 4,928 | 21 |
| 14 | burger | Jack in the Box | $3,084.9 | $1,379.0 | 1,703 | 547 | 2,250 | 29 |
| 15 | sandwich | Arby's | $2,992.0 | $993.2 | 2,343 | 1,011 | 3,354 | -83 |
| 16 | mexican | Chipotle Mexican Grill | $2,731.2 | $2,113.0 | 0 | 1,410 | 1,410 | 180 |
| 17 | pizza/pasta | Papa John's | $2,402.4 | $829.0 | 2,483 | 648 | 3,131 | 130 |
| 18 | burger | Dairy Queen* | $2,300.0 | $545.0 | 4,459 | 3 | 4,462 | -23 |
| 19 | chicken | Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen | $2,253.0 | $1,242.0 | 1,634 | 45 | 1,679 | 69 |
| 20 | burger | Hardee's | $1,900.0 | $1,145.0 | 1,233 | 470 | 1,703 | 8 |
| 21 | asian | Panda Express | $1,797.4 | $1,237.0 | 47 | 1,486 | 1,533 | 119 |
| 22 | pizza/pasta | Little Caesars* | $1,684.0 | $465.0 | 3,175 | 550 | 3,725 | 207 |
| 23 | burger | Whataburger | $1,476.8 | $1,996.0 | 119 | 621 | 740 | 12 |
| 24 | burger | Carl's Jr. | $1,400.0 | $1,470.0 | 697 | 427 | 1,124 | 8 |
| 25 | sandwich | Jimmy John's | $1,262.8 | $878.8 | 1,534 | 26 | 1,560 | 229 |
| 26 | burger | Five Guys Burgers & Fries | $1,082.7 | $1,049.0 | 850 | 255 | 1,105 | 204 |
| 27 | chicken | Zaxby's | $979.3 | $1,765.7 | 467 | 98 | 565 | 25 |
| 28 | chicken | Church's Chicken | $869.9 | $706.5 | 944 | 258 | 1,202 | 10 |
| 29 | chicken | Bojangles' | $864.5 | $1,717.5 | 325 | 211 | 536 | 30 |
| 30 | burger | Steak 'n Shake* | $857.5 | $1,700.0 | 87 | 414 | 501 | 10 |
| 31 | burger | Culver's | $838.8 | $1,837.5 | 463 | 9 | 472 | 28 |
| 32 | sandwich | Quiznos* | $838.0 | $345.0 | 2,349 | 4 | 2,353 | -150 |
| 33 | pizza/pasta | Papa Murphy's | $738.0 | $574.9 | 1,270 | 59 | 1,329 | 79 |
| 34 | seafood | Long John Silver's | $723.0 | $794.0 | 911 | 0 | 911 | -21 |
| 35 | burger | Checkers/Rally's | $696.9 | $903.4 | 455 | 321 | 776 | -3 |
| 36 | burger | White Castle | $618.5 | $1,284.2 | 0 | 406 | 406 | 9 |
| 37 | mexican | Del Taco | $607.9 | $1,100.0 | 253 | 298 | 551 | 19 |
| 38 | mexican | Qdoba Mexican Grill | $583.2 | $966.0 | 311 | 316 | 627 | 44 |
| 39 | sandwich | Jason's Deli | $578.9 | $2,556.4 | 101 | 144 | 245 | 10 |
| 40 | snack | Krispy Kreme* | $569.4 | $2,428.0 | 142 | 97 | 239 | 9 |
| 41 | chicken | El Pollo Loco* | $563.0 | $1,475.0 | 232 | 165 | 397 | 3 |
| 42 | chicken | Boston Market | $559.0 | $1,184.0 | 0 | 469 | 469 | -12 |
| 43 | snack | Tim Hortons | $532.2 | $1,095.0 | 800 | 4 | 804 | 90 |
| 44 | burger | In-N-Out Burger* | $528.0 | $1,935.0 | 0 | 280 | 280 | 14 |
| 45 | snack | Baskin-Robbins | $510.0 | $207.1 | 2,456 | 7 | 2,463 | -30 |
| 46 | pizza/pasta | CiCi's Pizza* | $505.0 | $915.0 | 540 | 10 | 550 | -23 |
| 47 | seafood | Captain D's | $467.1 | $903.0 | 239 | 278 | 517 | -2 |
| 48 | mexican | Moe's Southwest Grill | $452.0 | $1,102.5 | 478 | 4 | 482 | 43 |
| 49 | chicken | Wingstop | $450.9 | $902.0 | 510 | 23 | 533 | 45 |
| 50 | snack | Jamba Juice | $450.0 | $714.7 | 473 | 301 | 774 | 40 |
*Includes figures estimated by Technomic Inc. 1Franchise Unit Counts Represent data for Licensed Units 2AUV data for Company-operated units only
