culture

Top 10 Largest Fast-Food Chains in the World by Annual Revenue

The ten largest fast-food chains in the world by 2025 systemwide sales, from McDonald's at $139.4 billion to Popeyes at $7.8 billion.

Updated October 18, 2026 10 ranked 8 sources

Quick answer

McDonald's is the largest fast-food chain in the world by sales, with $139.4 billion in 2025 systemwide sales. KFC is second at $36.4 billion and Burger King third at $29.4 billion. The ranking uses fiscal-2025 systemwide sales of all company-operated and franchised restaurants, as reported by each chain's owner, not parent-company revenue.

McDonald's stands alone: its restaurants rang up $139.4 billion in systemwide sales in 2025, more than the next five chains on this list combined. Behind it, chicken dominates the upper tier, with KFC second at $36.4 billion and Chick-fil-A fourth on U.S. sales alone, and Burger King third at $29.4 billion. This list ranks quick-service restaurant chains by systemwide sales: the total sales of every restaurant in the chain, company-run and franchised, for fiscal 2025. That is not the same as the parent company's reported revenue, which for a franchisor counts only royalties, fees and its own stores' sales; the two measures are never mixed here.

2025 systemwide sales (US$ billions)

2025 systemwide sales (US$ billions)
McDonald's
139.4 US$ billions
KFC
36.4 US$ billions
Burger King
29.4 US$ billions
Chick-fil-A
23.9 US$ billions
Domino's
20.1 US$ billions
Taco Bell
18.4 US$ billions
Wendy's
14 US$ billions
Pizza Hut
12.8 US$ billions
Chipotle
11.9 US$ billions
Popeyes
7.8 US$ billions

The ranking

1

McDonald's

McDonald's restaurants sold $139.4 billion in 2025, up 7% (5% in constant currency). About 95% of its 45,356 restaurants are franchised, so the company's own revenue was a much smaller $26.9 billion.

Parent company: McDonald's CorporationRestaurants (end 2025): 45,356Sales measure: Global systemwide salesType: Burgers
2

KFC

KFC's 33,897 restaurants generated about $36.4 billion in 2025, making it the largest chicken chain in the world by sales. About 90% of its units are outside the United States.

Parent company: Yum! BrandsRestaurants (end 2025): 33,897Sales measure: Global systemwide salesType: Chicken
3

Burger King

Burger King's 19,900 restaurants recorded about $29.4 billion in systemwide sales in 2025, almost two-thirds of parent Restaurant Brands International's $46.8 billion total.

Parent company: Restaurant Brands InternationalRestaurants (end 2025): 19,900Sales measure: Global systemwide salesType: Burgers
4

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A's U.S. restaurants sold about $23.9 billion in 2025, up 5.2%, from just 3,287 locations. A typical stand-alone restaurant took just under $9.2 million. The figure covers U.S. sales only.

Parent company: Chick-fil-A, Inc. (private)Restaurants (end 2025): 3,287 (U.S.)Sales measure: U.S. systemwide salesType: Chicken
5

Domino's

Domino's global retail sales reached $20.1 billion in fiscal 2025, split almost evenly between U.S. stores ($9.95 billion) and international stores ($10.17 billion). It is the world's largest pizza chain by sales.

Parent company: Domino's Pizza, Inc.Restaurants (end 2025): 22,142Sales measure: Global systemwide salesType: Pizza
6

Taco Bell

Taco Bell's 9,030 restaurants generated about $18.4 billion in 2025, and system sales grew 8% excluding currency effects and the 53rd week, the fastest of Yum! Brands' big three.

Parent company: Yum! BrandsRestaurants (end 2025): 9,030Sales measure: Global systemwide salesType: Mexican-style
7

Wendy's

Wendy's global systemwide sales were $13.96 billion in 2025, down from $14.49 billion in 2024 as U.S. same-restaurant sales fell 5.6%. International sales grew 8.1% to about $2.06 billion.

Parent company: The Wendy's CompanyRestaurants (end 2025): 7,397Sales measure: Global systemwide salesType: Burgers
8

Pizza Hut

The Pizza Hut Division, including Telepizza units, recorded about $12.8 billion in systemwide sales in 2025. Sales fell and Yum! Brands has begun a review of strategic options for the brand.

Parent company: Yum! BrandsRestaurants (end 2025): 19,974Sales measure: Global systemwide salesType: Pizza
9

Chipotle

Chipotle owns and runs its restaurants, so its $11.9 billion in 2025 revenue (up 5.4%) is effectively its systemwide sales. It opened 334 company restaurants in 2025 even as comparable sales fell 1.7%.

Parent company: Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.Restaurants (end 2025): 4,000+Sales measure: Total revenue (all company-run)Type: Mexican-style (fast casual)
10

Popeyes

Popeyes' 5,413 restaurants in 51 countries and territories generated about $7.8 billion in 2025, despite U.S. comparable sales falling 3.2%.

Parent company: Restaurant Brands InternationalRestaurants (end 2025): 5,413Sales measure: Global systemwide salesType: Chicken

Full comparison

# Name Parent companyRestaurants (end 2025)Sales measureType
1 McDonald's McDonald's Corporation45,356Global systemwide salesBurgers
2 KFC Yum! Brands33,897Global systemwide salesChicken
3 Burger King Restaurant Brands International19,900Global systemwide salesBurgers
4 Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A, Inc. (private)3,287 (U.S.)U.S. systemwide salesChicken
5 Domino's Domino's Pizza, Inc.22,142Global systemwide salesPizza
6 Taco Bell Yum! Brands9,030Global systemwide salesMexican-style
7 Wendy's The Wendy's Company7,397Global systemwide salesBurgers
8 Pizza Hut Yum! Brands19,974Global systemwide salesPizza
9 Chipotle Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.4,000+Total revenue (all company-run)Mexican-style (fast casual)
10 Popeyes Restaurant Brands International5,413Global systemwide salesChicken

How we ranked this

Ranked by fiscal-2025 systemwide sales in US dollars, the total sales of all company-operated and franchised restaurants, as reported by each chain's owner: McDonald's 2025 Form 10-K ($139.4 billion); Yum! Brands' 2025 Form 10-K for the KFC ($36.4 billion), Taco Bell ($18.4 billion) and Pizza Hut ($12.8 billion, including Telepizza) divisions; Restaurant Brands International's 2025 Form 10-K for Burger King ($29.4 billion) and Popeyes ($7.8 billion); Domino's fiscal 2025 global retail sales ($20.1 billion); and Wendy's 2025 global systemwide sales ($13.96 billion). Two exceptions are flagged: Chick-fil-A is private and its $23.9 billion is U.S. systemwide sales from its 2025 franchise disclosure document as reported by Restaurant Business/Technomic (its few non-U.S. units are excluded); Chipotle owns and runs all its restaurants, so its $11.9 billion total revenue is used as its systemwide figure (it excludes sales at its small number of partner-operated international units). Scope: quick-service and fast-casual chains. Coffee, tea, doughnut and ice-cream chains (Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Dunkin', Luckin Coffee, Mixue) are excluded; Tim Hortons, at $8.2 billion, would otherwise rank tenth. Chains that publish no worldwide systemwide sales figure, notably Subway, cannot be ranked and are omitted. No ties occur.

FAQ

What does 'systemwide sales' mean?

Systemwide sales are the combined sales of every restaurant in a chain, company-operated and franchised. For a franchisor this is far larger than the company's own revenue: McDonald's systemwide sales were $139.4 billion in 2025, while McDonald's Corporation's revenue was $26.9 billion.

How far ahead is McDonald's?

Its $139.4 billion in 2025 systemwide sales is about 3.8 times second-placed KFC's $36.4 billion, and more than the next five chains on this list combined ($128.2 billion).

Why aren't Starbucks or Subway on the list?

Starbucks is a coffee chain, which this list excludes, and it reports company revenue ($37.2 billion in fiscal 2025) rather than a systemwide sales figure. Subway is privately held and publishes no worldwide systemwide sales total, so it cannot be ranked on the same basis.

Are any non-American chains in the top 10?

No. All ten are U.S.-founded brands, although Burger King and Popeyes belong to Canada-based Restaurant Brands International, and KFC earns most of its sales outside the United States.

Sources

More like this: all Culture & Media rankings · browse every topic