2026 Top 500 Report

Top 500 chain restaurant sales surpassed $450 billion in 2025, but trends point to a shift in industry momentum

Despite decelerating chain restaurant sales growth, the Technomic 2026 Top 500 Report reveals industry bright spots and thriving emerging chains

CHICAGO, April 15, 2026—With $450 billion in sales and 240,000-plus locations, the Top 500 restaurant chains have a substantial economic impact, accounting for over 5% of all annual retail spending by U.S. consumers. In the 2026 Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, Technomic reveals that, while total sales rose by 3% on annual basis in 2025, growth momentum has cooled compared to prior years and sales are forecasted to increase by low single-digits again in 2026.
“The Top 500 chains displayed impressive perseverance last year, achieving sales growth and overall expansion in locations despite challenging economic conditions and ever-intensifying competition,” said Kevin Schimpf, senior director of industry research at Technomic. “Expect to see more of the same in 2026, with annual sales growth predicted to hover close to the rate of inflation.”

Key findings from the report include:

• 2025 marked the fourth consecutive year that Top 500 sales gains decelerated compared to the prior year

• The overall location footprint of Top 500 chains expanded, driven by development in the coffee cafe, chicken and beverage/snack chain categories

• Drive-thru coffee brands are booming, propelled by the blistering growth of chains like 7 Brew Drive Thru Coffee, Dutch Bros and Scooter’s Coffee
  Sturdy sales increases from casual-dining giants Chili’s Grill & Bar, Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden stabilized the overall performance of full-service restaurants

• International brands are making moves within the Top 500 rankings, headlined by strong growth from Paris Baguette, Tous les Jours, Jollibee, Bb.q Chicken and Kura Sushi

• Pizza chains had a challenging year as overall category sales slipped into negative territory, but Domino’s and Jet’s Pizza stood out with notable sales gains

Technomic’s 2026 Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report provides a comprehensive overview of the U.S. chain restaurant industry, offering detailed analysis of the top chains' sales performance, location development and segment trends. The full report is available for purchase at https://www.technomic.com/industry-reports/

About Technomic

Technomic Inc., an Informa Connect company, was founded as a management consulting firm in 1966. Since then, Technomic’s services have grown to encompass cloud-based B2B research tools, consumer and menu trend tracking and other leading strategic research and analytic capabilities, to prioritize and size business opportunities. Our clients include food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants, retailers and multiple other business verticals aligned with the food industry that are looking to make informed decisions to support their business growth. Visit Technomic at www.technomic.com.

About Informa & Informa Connect

Informa is a leading international B2B markets, live and on-demand events and digital services group. They connect businesses and professionals in 30+ industries with the knowledge they need to learn more, know more and do more. Informa has hundreds of global brands, products and services and employs 11,000 employees in ~30 countries worldwide. Informa Connect is a content-led, live and on-demand experiences business which connects professionals with knowledge, ideas and opportunities. Informa Connect offers connection through events, media and research globally, servicing a number of different industries including Finance, Bio Tech and Pharma, Restaurant and Food, Catering, Event Planning, Pop Culture, Marketing, Law, Energy, HR, Sustainability, Construction. Find out more about Informa and the Informa Connect division at www.informa.com and www.informaconnect.com.