*Adam Note: We have an amazing deep dive into fast food thanks to Rola Elkhatib from Siege Media filled with colorful pictures and useful information. It’s a perspective on calories and cash. Enjoy!

People across the world rely on fast food when they are hungry, just plain busy, or when they crave something indulgent. With a McDonald’s, Subway, and Chick-Fil-A around every corner, the practical aspect of fast-food makes it difficult to resist for most consumers. When traveling to a new country or driving through an unknown city, there is one constant: fast food. This is a large factor in why fast service restaurants are so successful because they appeal to a large audience.

Fast food chains generate a lot of profit even though their prices aren’t very high, due to the mass production of items and inexpensive ingredients.  Since the franchises have notoriously low prices and high-calorie menus, the team at Postmates took a deep dive into just how much the biggest fast-food chains earn, but from the perspective of each calorie on their menu.

The Big Dogs

As mentioned above, McDonald’s, Chick-Fil-A, and Subway are extremely well-known franchises across the US. And when we added up the total 2018 revenue that the fast-food chains made and divided it by the number of calories they have listed on their menus, the numbers were shocking. The top three competitors making six figures for each calorie, with the other franchises still generating a significant amount.

McDonald’s and the Infamous Big Mac

For McDonald’s, each individual calorie led to a $231,000 profit for the corporation. Even a simple order of a small sprite from  McDonald’s is equivalent to $32,340,000 in profit. What does this show? That no matter how small you might think your purchase is, you are contributing to the millions of dollars given to one of the largest companies in the world. Companies don’t have to sell and produce extremely expensive products or food items in order to be successful, which is something that McDonald’s has shown time and time again. With their $21.3 billion in revenue in 2018 and over 325 options on their menu, the fast-food giant takes the number one slot in this study.

Chick-Fil-A and the Chicken Sandwich

The Georgia-based (but now international) fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A takes the number two spot when it comes to dollar generated per calorie. For each calorie, Chick-Fil-A makes six-figures though their $184,094 earnings per calorie come in well below McDonald’s numbers. Their infamous chicken sandwich alone leads to $81,001,360 in earnings. Although Chick-Fil-A is only prevalent in the US, UK, and Canada, the company has still made a big footprint in the quick-service industry. However, places like McDonald’s, KFC, and Starbucks have had more of a global footprint. However, this doesn’t take away from its popularity in the countries where they are located.

Subway’s Fresh Business Plan

Subway, in comparison to the other restaurant chains above, has the lowest calorie amount on the menu. Even with their calorie count being low, they still generate six-figures for a single calorie sold. At $160,388 per calorie, that means that the average amount they are making per sandwich is a shocking $41,059,328. And though they are closing many stores around the globe, the profit they are making year over year is still significant enough to make the top three in Postmates’ list.

The Outliers

Fast food may seem similar, but there are a couple of places that stand out with their menu items and dollars earned. Menu items now have expanded to coffee, instead of the stereotypical beefy items. When it comes to dollars earned, with a more dense menu, the smaller the cost per calorie is. These outliers still seemed to make their way to the top of the list.

The Rise of Caffeine

Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts rank as some of the top fast-food places, and are known for their array of coffee choices. Surprisingly, both Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks have the highest-calorie menus of the bunch even though a majority of their items are coffee or frappuccinos. Starbucks makes $16,000 for each calorie on their dense menu while Dunkin’ generates $7,000 per calorie.

Wendy’s and Their Calorie-Dense Menu

Speaking of high-in-calorie menus, out of all other competitors, Wendy’s takes the crown. Even with the high-calorie count, the fast-food chain made an average of $27,953 per calorie. The global franchise has a variety of options on their menu that might be contributing to the heavy calorie count, from their signature vanilla frosty to their made-to-crave burgers.

Fast food has influenced society all around the world and has become a weekly if not a daily part of people’s lives. For this reason, the chains have made an overwhelming amount of money, and the market shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. The impact of fast-food is extensive, but looking at cost-per-calorie can provide a new way to evaluate the impact each individual consumer has on the industry as a whole.