Restaurant sales slowed in 2024, climbing 3.1% annually, according to Technomic Top 500 data.

“Top 500 chain sales climbed by just 3.1% in 2024, the lowest annual increase observed over the last 10 years outside of 2020’s pandemic-influenced 8% decline,” the data agency noted in its Top 500 report.

The slowing was several percentage points below the average over the past five years, Technomic noted.

“Sales have increased by an average annual rate of 5.6% over the last five years across all Top 500 chains,” it said.

Tepid sales at major Top 10 chains like McDonald’s Corp. (No. 1 ranking, up 0.6% in sales in 2024, to $53.5 million) and Starbucks Corp. (No. 2 ranking, down 0.5% in sales in 2024, to $31.5 million) offset increases at Chick-fil-A (No. 3 ranking, up 5.4%, to $22.7 million) and Taco Bell (No. 4 ranking, up 8.1%, to $16.2 million).

Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s CEO, said in an earnings call for the last quarter of 2024 that that performance fell short of expectations because of external challenges, including pressure on consumer spending and a food safety incident in the US.

“In the U.S., comp sales were down 1.4% for Q4 amidst the impact of the E. coli outbreak linked to slivered onions on our Quarter Pounders,” Kempczinski noted.

Like many brands in the Top 500, McDonald’s was turning to value messaging in 2025.

“In the U.S., the January launch of the McValue platform provides consistent, compelling value with the choice and flexibility our customers want,” Kempczinski noted.

Contact Ron Ruggless at Ronald.Ruggless@Informa.com

Follow him on X/Twitter: @RonRuggless

Source https://www.nrn.com/top-500-restaurants/restaurant-sales-slowed-in-2024-technomic-top-500-indicates

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