The top three fast food franchises for yearly U.S. sales, according to the 2018 QSR Magazine Report, which breaks down sales numbers from the previous year, were McDonald’s, Starbucks and Subway. Here’s how the numbers shook out:
- McDonald’s — 14,036 units, $37,480,670,000 in sales, or $2,670,320 in sales per unit.
- Starbucks — 13,930 units, $13,167,610,000 in sales, or $945,270 in sales per unit.
- Subway — 25,908 units, $10,800,000,000 in sales, or $416,860 in sales per unit.
Now, if you were starting your own business, you’d be pretty happy with any of those numbers. The worst of them, Subway, is reeling in nearly $11 billion in sales each year.
Chick-fil-A was ranked a not-too-shabby eighth by QSR, after taking in $9 billion in sales. That number trailed Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s and Dunkin’ Donuts in addition to the top three.
But, the most amazing part of this is that Chick-fil-A only operates 2,225 restaurants. That’s less than one-sixth as many as the top-three earning restaurants — less than half as many as the rest of the franchises ahead of it. Of the top-50 earning restaurants, Chick-fil-A ranked 21st in the number of units.
So, how did Chick-fil-A rank so highly in total U.S. sales? By earning more per store than any other restaurant. A lot more. In fact, the average Chick-fil-A unit made around $4,090,900 in 2017. By contrast, the total sales for a McDonald’s ($2,670,320 per unit), Starbucks ($945,270) and Subway ($416,860) is $4,032,450.