McDonald’s: The Golden Giant Still Reigning Supreme
Despite facing some headwinds, McDonald’s remains the undisputed king of fast food with $25.49 billion fiscal year gains. The iconic chain serves 69 million people from 100 countries across the globe daily, proving its global dominance is far from over. Even with challenges like high prices and a listeria outbreak negatively impacted McDonald’s sales, which were down 1.4% according to fourth-quarter earnings reports, the company continues innovating. Their new CosMc’s concept, a small-format restaurant focused on specialty beverages, represents their bold push into the growing $100 billion specialty beverage market. The Golden Arches are also doubling down on digital, with U.S. franchisees will contribute 1.2 percent of digital sales to a new digital marketing fund starting in 2025. McDonald’s might stumble occasionally, but they’re definitely not staying down.
Starbucks: The Coffee Empire That Conquered the World
Fast-forward to 2024, it generates an estimated $36.48 billion yearly from sales in 86 countries, making Starbucks the second-largest fast-food chain by revenue. What started as a simple coffee bean store in 1971 has transformed into a global lifestyle brand that redefined how we think about coffee. In 2024, McDonald’s ranked top of the list, with Starbucks in a not-so-close second place in terms of brand value, but that “not-so-close” gap doesn’t tell the whole story. Starbucks has managed to turn a simple cup of coffee into a $5+ daily ritual for millions of people worldwide. The company continues expanding aggressively, with Starbucks adding about that many—even amid recent sales challenges locations annually. Their ability to create a “third place” between home and work has proven to be one of the most successful business models in modern retail history.
Chick-fil-A: The Chicken Chain That’s Quietly Taking Over
Here’s where things get really interesting. While Chick-fil-A’s year-over-year sales growth wasn’t as robust as recent years, percentage wise, it continued to push unrivaled volumes at scale and still added another $1.2 billion in sales in 2024, and $9 billion since 2020. The company’s median annual sales volume was $9.227 million and the average annual sales volume $9.317 million per location, which is absolutely staggering when you compare it to competitors. What makes this even more remarkable is that Chick-fil-A non-mall locations were bringing in an average revenue of $9.4 million per store, more than double the current average of McDonald’s. Despite being closed on Sundays, Chick-fil-A has become America’s third-largest restaurant chain. Their international expansion is just getting started, with Chick-fil-A’s Asia development will begin with Singapore in late 2025, the start of a 10-year, $75 million investment.
Domino’s: The Pizza Giant That Mastered Digital Innovation
Thanks to this global love of pizza, the brand amasses $4.61 billion per annum from its network of over 20,000 locations worldwide. What started as a tiny pizza shop called “DomiNicks” purchased for $1,400 by the Monaghan brothers has evolved into a technology company that happens to sell pizza. Domino’s revolutionized food delivery with their pizza tracker technology and aggressive digital ordering push years before the pandemic made it essential. The company’s focus on delivery speed and convenience has kept them competitive in an increasingly crowded pizza market. Their global expansion strategy has been particularly successful, with strong growth in international markets where pizza culture continues to expand. While they face stiff competition from other pizza chains, Domino’s has maintained its position through consistent innovation and a relentless focus on delivery efficiency.
Wendy’s: The Fresh Challenger Fighting to Stay Relevant
As of 2024, Wendy’s has an estimated income of $2.2 billion, maintaining its position as one of America’s most recognizable fast food chains. The “Fresh, Never Frozen” pioneer has been working hard to modernize its approach under new leadership. Leadership changes have also been made, with Kirk Tanner from Pepsi being appointed CEO and Tanner believes these dedicated roles will drive growth in sales, digital initiatives, and new restaurant development. However, Wendy’s had good momentum last quarter which has slowed down in 2025. The company believes bad weather is partly to blame for people not wanting to venture out for a meal. Customer complaints about pricing are becoming more frequent, with one Reddit user noting “2 double Baconators & 2 medium fries was $25.00. I like Baconators, but that’s just too much for fast food”. The chain wants to achieve over 2 percent growth in 2024 and 3-4 percent in 2025, but they’re swimming upstream against pricing pressures and changing consumer habits.
Culver’s: The Midwest Darling Going National
While many chains struggle with declining sales, Culver’s has been quietly building one of the most impressive success stories in fast food. The chain’s AUV clocked in at $3.487 million in 2023, a material rise from 2022, when it was $3.28 million, and 2021, when it was $3.099 million. Even more impressive, In short, it emerged from the pandemic making roughly $1 million-plus more per location than it did going in. The Wisconsin-based burger chain is projected to add another 51 units this year, with 60 franchise agreements signed and outlets still waiting to be opened. What makes Culver’s special isn’t just their ButterBurgers and frozen custard—it’s their ability to maintain quality while scaling rapidly. If that happens, it could cross into 2025 with 995 restaurants, representing remarkable growth for a chain that many people outside the Midwest had never heard of just a few years ago.
Subway: The Sandwich Giant That Lost Its Way
Once the undisputed king of sandwiches, Subway’s fall from grace has been swift and brutal. Subway lost a net of 631 U.S. restaurants in 2024, continuing a years-long slide. The sandwich chain finished the year with 19,502 domestic units, marking the first time the brand has been below 20,000 in about 20 years. The numbers are even more devastating when you consider It reached a peak of more than 27,000 stores in 2015. The company generated $9.5 billion in system sales in the U.S. last year, down 3.8% compared with 2023, and Subway did generate the highest average-unit volumes in its history in 2024 at $490,000—which sounds impressive until you realize that’s pathetically low compared to competitors. The chain has been plagued by scandals, from the Jared Fogle controversy to the Supreme Court of Ireland ruled that Subway’s bread wasn’t actually bread—because its sugar content was way too high at 10% sugar, five times the legal limit. In 2024 alone, the sandwich chain shuttered more than 600 locations, having closed over 7,000 over the course of nine years.
Burger King: The Whopper Chain Struggling to Keep Up
While Burger King tries to maintain optimism with a 1.5% rise in profits, the reality is far less encouraging. The Home of the Whopper has been losing ground to virtually every major competitor for years now. CEO Josh Kobza acknowledges that “More of our restaurants are owned by stronger franchisees now who are simply better at running their stores, and we’re seeing that play through both in the top-line and the bottom-line for those restaurant owners”, but this admission reveals deeper systemic problems. The chain has fallen behind in the innovation race, struggled with consistent food quality, and lost significant market share to rivals like McDonald’s and even newer players like Chick-fil-A. Unlike McDonald’s, which continues to innovate with concepts like CosMc’s, or Chick-fil-A’s relentless focus on service excellence, Burger King seems to be treading water. Chipotle Mexican Grill, which largely adopted Subway’s assembly line style of counter service, leapfrogged both the sandwich chain and Burger King on the Top 10 rankings, showing just how far the former king has fallen. Their reliance on price promotions and gimmicky menu items suggests a brand that’s lost its identity and is desperately trying to find relevance in an increasingly competitive market.
