Category
Franchise economics, pricing, food costs, real estate, payments
210 articles
RSSWhen McDonald's starts cutting prices aggressively, it is not a marketing move. It is a distress signal from the bottom half of the American economy. McValue 2.0 tells operators more about consumer health than any Fed report.
Darden Restaurants posted Q3 fiscal 2026 sales of $3.35 billion, up 5.9% year over year, as LongHorn Steakhouse delivered 7.2% same-restaurant sales growth. The results signal a broader shift: the price gap between fast food and casual dining has narrowed enough that consumers are reconsidering where they spend their restaurant dollars.
Canadian beef now carries a 25% import duty, some seafood products have tripled in price, and the full cost wave hasn't hit yet. Here's what QSR operators need to know before the dam breaks.
Brinker International lifted its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast to $5.76-$5.83 billion after Chili's posted its sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit same-store sales growth, outpacing the casual dining industry by hundreds of basis points while its fast-food rivals scrambled to respond.
A wave of private equity dry powder, maturing PE hold periods, and a bankruptcy auction putting 18 restaurant brands on the block has the franchise M&A market tracking toward its most active stretch in recent memory. Here is what operators and investors need to know.
Uber Eats raised its Lite tier commission from 15% to 20% in early March 2026, adding a 5% surcharge on Uber One orders. For QSR operators already running 3-9% net margins, the math on delivery profitability just got harder.
From Blackstone's $8 billion Jersey Mike's deal to a private equity consortium taking Denny's private for $620 million, 2025 was a banner year for restaurant M&A. Here's what the dealmaking tells us about where franchise ownership is headed.
A new Research and Markets report pegs the global fast food market at $658.85 billion in 2025, with a projected rise to $868.19 billion by 2030 at a 5.7% CAGR. The growth is real, but the story behind the numbers is more complicated than any single headline figure suggests.
USDA projects food-away-from-home prices to rise 3.7% to 4.6% in 2026, while grocery inflation is forecast at just 1.7%. The widening gap is changing how middle-income consumers spend their food budgets, and QSR operators are caught in the middle.
Domino's posted 3.7% U.S. same-store sales growth in Q4 2025, extending a nine-quarter streak that has redrawn competitive lines across the $46 billion U.S. pizza market. As Pizza Hut sheds 250 locations and Papa John's winds down 300, the gap between the category leader and the rest of the field keeps widening.
FAT Brands and affiliate Twin Hospitality filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 26, 2026, capping a years-long acquisition binge that loaded the company with debt across 17 brands and 2,300-plus locations. The collapse is a case study in franchise rollup risk, and it carries direct consequences for hundreds of franchisees now operating inside a restructuring.
Roark Capital paid $9.6 billion for Subway in 2023 and has since posted 12 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth. Yet the U.S. store count has dropped below 20,000 for the first time in two decades. Understanding that contradiction is the key to understanding Roark's playbook.