2026 Top 500: The 50 biggest restaurant chains in America
The year was another mixed bag, but things are looking good for drive-thru coffee.
June 16, 2026
Every year, Nation’s Restaurant News and sibling publication Restaurant Business provide analysis of Technomic’s Top 500 restaurant chains report, which ranks companies by U.S. systemwide sales.
2026 was a mixed bag for the industry. For the second straight year, foodservice inflation outpaced Top 500 sales growth, and it was the fourth consecutive year that sales growth decelerated.
Among the 50 biggest chains, 33 saw sales growth. Dutch Bros topped that group at 22.2%, reflecting growth among drive-thru coffee chains on the full list. Dutch Bros also surpassed the 1,000-location threshold last year, with 15.7% unit growth.
Thirty-two of these chains added net new units in 2025, with Wingstop at 17.3% growth for 2,586 units to close out the year.
Hardee’s had the biggest unit drop among the Top 50 at 5.5%, while Pizza Hut had the worst sales, losing 8.2%.
In this slideshow, see the 50 biggest restaurant chains in America by U.S. systemwide sales, and check back throughout the summer for even more.
Click here to return to the Top 500 landing page.
All data courtesy Technomic Ignite company. Looking for more data? Click here to access the complete Technomic Top 500.
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