Restaurant revenue varied sharply across major chains in 2024. Reported results show strong expansion at CAVA, Wingstop, and Chipotle, while Starbucks, Bloomin’ Brands, and Dine Brands reported weaker comparable or total-revenue measures. The figures below use each company’s stated fiscal period, so annual, quarterly, and year-to-date results should not be treated as interchangeable.
Contents
- Company scale and revenue mix
- Franchising and restaurant ownership
- Full-service restaurant revenue
- Fast-casual and limited-service growth
- Transactions, traffic, and average checks
- Costs and restaurant-level profitability
Company scale and revenue mix
McDonald’s reported total revenue of $25.920 billion in 2024, compared with $25.494 billion in 2023. Its revenue included $15.715 billion from franchised restaurants, $9.782 billion in sales by company-owned and operated restaurants, and $423 million in other revenue. The comparable 2023 amounts were $15.437 billion, $9.742 billion, and $316 million, respectively. These figures come from the McDonald’s Corporation 2024 Annual Report.
Several other large restaurant companies also reported sizeable annual totals:
- Darden’s fiscal 2024 total sales were $11.39 billion, up 8.6% from $10.49 billion in fiscal 2023. Its blended same-restaurant sales increased 1.6%, according to Darden’s fiscal 2024 results.
- Texas Roadhouse reported $5.373 billion of total revenue in fiscal 2024, versus $4.632 billion in fiscal 2023. Restaurant and other sales were $5.342 billion, compared with $4.605 billion, while franchise royalties and fees were $31.5 million, up from $27.1 million. Source: Texas Roadhouse 2024 annual report.
- Yum! Brands reported $5.187 billion of total revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared with $5.040 billion for the corresponding 2023 period. Company sales were $1.667 billion versus $1.495 billion, while franchise and property revenues were $2.350 billion versus $2.351 billion. Source: Yum! Brands Form 10-Q.
- Bloomin’ Brands reported $3.950 billion of total revenue in fiscal 2024, down from $4.168 billion in fiscal 2023. Restaurant sales were $3.866 billion, versus $4.078 billion, and franchise and other revenue was $84.1 million, versus $90.4 million. Source: Bloomin’ Brands 2024 annual report.
- Cracker Barrel’s fiscal 2024 total revenue was $3.4708 billion, compared with $3.4428 billion in fiscal 2023. Restaurant revenue was $2.7941 billion and retail revenue was $676.6 million. Source: Cracker Barrel 2024 annual report.
Cracker Barrel’s mix makes the composition of reported revenue especially clear: restaurant revenue represented 80.5% of total revenue in fiscal 2024, while retail revenue represented 19.5%. Its average restaurant store volume was $4.133 million for the same fiscal year.
Franchising and restaurant ownership
Revenue cannot be compared correctly without considering whether a company records sales made by restaurants directly or primarily receives royalties, fees, rent, advertising revenue, and other franchise-related income. McDonald’s had 41,432 franchised restaurants and 2,045 company-owned and operated restaurants on December 31, 2024. Franchised restaurants represented approximately 95% of its worldwide restaurants at that date.
Yum! Brands opened 4,535 new restaurants in 2024 across more than 100 countries and surpassed 60,000 total system restaurants globally, according to its 2024 proxy statement. KFC International opened more than 2,000 net new units for the second consecutive year in 2024. Those unit figures describe system expansion, not revenue recognized by the parent company.
Dine Brands illustrates the franchise-revenue distinction. Its 2024 total revenue was $812.3 million, down from $831.1 million in 2023. Total franchise revenue was $686.0 million, compared with $706.4 million. Within that total, royalty, franchise fees, and other revenue were $395.5 million; advertising revenue was $290.4 million; rental revenue was $115.3 million; and financing revenue was $1.8 million. The corresponding 2023 amounts were $405.6 million, $300.8 million, $120.0 million, and $2.6 million. Source: Dine Brands 2024 annual report.
Dine Brands’ combined system-wide sales for all brands declined to $8.0 billion in 2024, down 3.9% from 2023. Applebee’s system-wide sales fell 5.5%, IHOP’s fell 1.1%, and Fuzzy’s fell 14.7%. Approximately 83% of Dine Brands’ total revenue in 2024 came from Applebee’s and IHOP. System-wide sales and corporate revenue are different measurements: the former reflects sales across the restaurant system, while the latter is the amount reported by the company.
Full-service restaurant revenue
Darden’s brand-level results show how sales and profit can move together at different scales. Olive Garden annual sales were $5,067.0 million in fiscal 2024, up from $4,877.8 million in fiscal 2023. Its annual segment profit was $1,110.2 million, versus $1,025.8 million. LongHorn Steakhouse annual sales were $2,806.2 million, compared with $2,612.3 million, and annual segment profit was $511.1 million, versus $430.9 million. Source: Darden fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter release.
Texas Roadhouse’s reported cost base also grew alongside sales. Food and beverage costs were $1.785 billion in fiscal 2024, compared with $1.594 billion in fiscal 2023. Comparable restaurant sales increased 8.5%, and store weeks increased 7.5%. Store weeks measure the operating contribution of open restaurants over time, so the measure helps separate unit expansion from customer demand, although it is not itself a revenue figure. Source: Texas Roadhouse 2024 annual report.
Cracker Barrel’s comparable restaurant sales declined 0.1% in fiscal 2024 even as its average check increased 4.9%. Comparable restaurant guest traffic declined 5.0%. This combination indicates that the reported sales experience involved higher spending per visit alongside fewer guests; the figures do not establish the precise causes of the change.
Brinker International reported $2.497 billion of total revenue for the 26-week period ended December 25, 2024, versus $2.087 billion in the prior-year period. Company sales were $2.473 billion, compared with $2.066 billion, and franchise revenue was $23.8 million, compared with $20.9 million. Restaurant labor costs were $798.4 million, versus $704.2 million. Source: Brinker International Q2 FY2025 release.
Fast-casual and limited-service growth
The 2024 results from fast-casual and limited-service chains show several distinct growth patterns:
| Company and period | Revenue measure | 2024 result | Comparison or related metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chipotle, fourth quarter | Total revenue | $2.8 billion | Up 13.1% year over year |
| CAVA, 12 weeks ended October 6 | Revenue | $243.8 million | $175.6 million a year earlier |
| Wingstop, fiscal year | Total revenue | $625.8 million | Up 36.0% year over year |
| Portillo’s, fiscal year | Revenue | $710.6 million | Average unit volume of $8.7 million |
| Texas Roadhouse, fiscal year | Total revenue | $5.373 billion | $4.632 billion in fiscal 2023 |
Chipotle’s fourth-quarter total revenue growth was driven by new restaurant openings and a 5.4% increase in comparable restaurant sales. Comparable transactions increased 4.0%, and average check rose 1.4%. Digital sales represented 34.4% of total food and beverage revenue in the fourth quarter. For the full year, comparable sales increased 7.4% and transaction growth was 5.3%. Source: Chipotle Q4 2024 results.
CAVA reported $243.8 million of revenue for the twelve weeks ended October 6, 2024, compared with $175.6 million a year earlier. Restaurant revenue was $241.5 million, versus $173.8 million, while CPG revenue and other revenue was $2.318 million, versus $1.794 million. For the forty weeks ended October 6, revenue was $736.3 million, compared with $551.5 million. Source: CAVA quarterly report.
CAVA’s fiscal 2024 same-restaurant sales growth was 13.4%, driven by 8.7% guest traffic growth and 4.7% menu price and product-mix growth. It opened 58 net new restaurants, and restaurant-level profit margin was 25.0%. Source: CAVA 2024 results.
Wingstop’s total revenue was $625.8 million in fiscal 2024, up from $460.1 million in fiscal 2023. The company reported a year-over-year increase of $165.8 million, or 36.0%. Royalty revenue, franchise fees, and other revenue increased $81.3 million, while company-owned restaurant sales increased $24.0 million. Source: Wingstop 2024 annual report.
Portillo’s reported $710.6 million in fiscal 2024 revenue and $8.7 million in average unit volume. It added 10 new restaurants. Restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA was $168.1 million, with a 23.7% restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margin. Adjusted EBITDA was $104.8 million, with a 14.7% adjusted EBITDA margin. Same-restaurant sales changed by -0.6%. Source: Portillo’s 2024 company presentation.
Yum! Brands’ Taco Bell U.S. business delivered 5% same-store sales growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Yum! Brands Q4/FY 2024 results.
Transactions, traffic, and average checks
Comparable sales are more informative when separated into traffic, transaction count, and spending per transaction. Starbucks North America comparable store sales declined 2% in fiscal 2024. Comparable transactions declined 5%, while average ticket increased 4%. North America total net revenues nevertheless increased $440 million, or 2%, and the company added 533 net new company-operated stores over the preceding 12 months. North America operating income was $5.4 billion, compared with $5.5 billion in fiscal 2023. Sources: Starbucks Fiscal 2024 Annual Report and Starbucks Q4 and full-year 2024 results.
Starbucks global comparable store sales declined 2% in fiscal 2024. The North America measures show why total revenue and comparable performance can diverge: a larger average ticket and additional company-operated stores can coexist with fewer comparable transactions.
Chipotle provides a different pattern. Its fourth-quarter comparable restaurant sales increase included 4.0% higher transactions and a 1.4% rise in average check. CAVA also reported both traffic and mix effects, with 8.7% guest traffic growth and 4.7% menu price/product-mix growth in fiscal 2024. Cracker Barrel, by contrast, recorded a 4.9% higher average check while comparable guest traffic declined 5.0% and comparable restaurant sales declined 0.1%.
Costs and restaurant-level profitability
Revenue growth does not automatically mean proportional profit growth. Portillo’s fiscal 2024 restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA of $168.1 million and 23.7% margin differ from its adjusted EBITDA of $104.8 million and 14.7% margin because the measures cover different levels of the business. CAVA’s restaurant-level profit margin was 25.0% in fiscal 2024.
Bloomin’ Brands reported $1.148 billion in food and beverage costs in fiscal 2024, down from $1.240 billion in fiscal 2023. Labor and other related costs were $1.203 billion, compared with $1.220 billion. These cost figures sit alongside the company’s decline in total revenue from $4.168 billion to $3.950 billion, so they should be read as reported totals rather than as a standalone restaurant-margin calculation. Source: Bloomin’ Brands 2024 annual report.
McDonald’s operating margin fell from 46% in 2023 to 45% in 2024. The company also repurchased 10.1 million shares for $2.8 billion in 2024. At December 31, 2024, McDonald’s owned approximately 56% of the land and approximately 80% of the buildings for restaurants in its consolidated markets. Those ownership figures help describe the company’s operating structure, but they are not restaurant revenue or operating-margin measures. Source: McDonald’s Corporation 2024 Annual Report.
The central operating lesson from these figures is that restaurant revenue has several layers: company sales, franchise royalties, system-wide sales, comparable sales, transactions, average checks, and restaurant-level profit. A useful comparison therefore keeps the reporting period, geography, ownership model, and measurement definition attached to every number.