Wendy's
About: The Wendy's Company is the second-largest burger quick-service restaurant, or QSR, chain in the United States by systemwide sales, with $12.6 billion in 2024, narrowly edging Burger King ($11.5 billion) and clocking in well behind wide-moat McDonald's ($51.1 billion). After divestitures of Tim Hortons (2006) and Arby's (2011), the firm manages just the burger banner, generating sales across a footprint that spanned more than 7,200 total stores in 30 countries as of year-end 2024. Wendy's generates revenue from the sale of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, and fries throughout its company-owned footprint, through franchise royalty and marketing fund payments remitted by its franchisees, which account for roughly 94% of stores, and through franchise flipping and advisory fees.
Employees: 14,500