Consistent growth has propelled Starbucks to the position of world's second-largest restaurant chain, and a challenge for the top spot is certainly within the realm of possibility.
According to data from Technomic, the company that is primarily renowned for its coffee but also offers some limited food products soared past Subway last year. There were 38,587 Starbucks outlets across the globe as of the end of last year, compared to just 36,516 for Subway.
Once the undisputed leader in the number of locations worldwide, Subway has fallen well behind its rivals in recent years, shuttering 6,000 restaurants in the United States alone between 2015 and 2021.
(Since then, the business has started opening new ones again.) Meanwhile, the restaurant company Starbucks rearranged the deck of cards last year due to its ambitious development, which saw the addition of roughly 3,000 outlets.
There are 41,822 McDonald's restaurants worldwide, making it the undisputed top. At least in terms of location, that puts Starbucks within striking distance. Starbucks announced in November that it intends to open slightly less than 15,000 international stores by 2030.
"Our store portfolio becomes increasingly global as we expect three out of every four new stores over the near term to be opened outside of the U.S.," stated Michael Conway, president of Starbucks' international and channel development divisions, during a company presentation announcing the expansion.
While store counts are important, McDonald's will most certainly remain ahead of the competition for the foreseeable future in terms of revenue. Subway made $15.6 billion worldwide in 2022, while Starbucks made $28.1 billion. Approximately $120 billion was the amount that McDonald's made that year.
Fast food customers have been vocal about their displeasure with the chain's ever-increasing costs. Because of this, McDonald's has reinstated the "affordability" menu item. Customers waited in line for hours for the opening of Starbucks rival CosMc's, suggesting the chain may be in for another hit.
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