FSR partnered with FoodserviceResults for this year’s FSR 50 report. Confirmation of U.S. sales, units, and average-unit volumes (AUV) were requested from all leading chain restaurant operators corporate headquarters. Filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD), transactional data, and statistics from other sources were amalgamated, reviewed, and analyzed to yield domestic sales, unit count, and average-unit volumes.

When necessary, estimates were made for fiscal year 2019 in order to more accurately report on restaurant industry leaders. Founded by industry veteran Darren Tristano, FoodserviceResults is a research and consulting firm specializing in consumer research, data analysis, and insights to the foodservice industry.