2017 Top 500: Burger

mcdonalds burgers

The top three burger chains, all QSRs, own two-thirds of the category's sales. But fast casuals have the largest growth and have drawn burger chains toward upgraded offerings. As a category, burger brands among the Top 500 increased sales by 2.7% to $78 billion and units by 1% to 43,787. The largest gains were made by smaller players, but Five Guys' and Whataburger's 9% increases in sales are notable.

2017 Rank

Chain Name

2016 U.S. Sales ($000)

2016 U.S. Units

1McDonald's36,389,00014,155
4Burger King9,430,100*7,161
6Wendy's8,963,600*5,739
12Sonic Drive-In4,518,0983,557
22Jack in the Box3,461,5402,255
32Hardee's2,241,2411,848
34Whataburger2,181,348806
39 Carl's Jr.1,519,7571,163
41Five Guys Burgers and Fries1,436,9221,284
43Culver's1,301,378605
47Steak 'n Shake1,075,000*568
56In-N-Out Burger807,100*325
76White Castle564,233384
82Checkers Drive-In Restaurants532,400*555*
92Krystal Company416,930367
111Smashburger344,000*343
112Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers340,458236
126The Habit Burger Grill298,119172
130Shake Shack280,350*71
132Rally's Hamburgers272,500*295*
151Fuddruckers239,200*170
163A&W All-American Food223,000632
216BurgerFi148,200*106
221Jack's143,400*141
228Farmer Boys136,200*88

*Technomic estimate; Source: Technomic's Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report

 

View the full Top 500 report

 

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