Chick-fil-A keeps winning big while quietly increasing prices

Many Americans retrieve erstwhile fast-food chains offered $1 burgers and 50-cent drinks; however, those days are agelong gone. Today, grabbing a speedy repast tin consciousness much similar a splurge, with customers often shocked by the precocious full connected their receipts.

Fast-food was erstwhile the astir affordable benignant of repast 1 could get, an charismatic origin that helped chains similar McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's emergence to fame. But successful caller years, prices person climbed truthful precocious that immoderate fast-food combo meals present rival the outgo of casual sit-down edifice dishes.

Prices for nutrient astatine location roseate 2.6% successful the 12 months ended September 2025, portion prices for nutrient distant from location increased 3.7%, according to recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Higher market bills and edifice costs are forcing more Americans to marque pugnacious choices. A Credit Karma survey recovered that 27% of consumers person skipped meals to prevention money.

Still, contempt soaring prices crossed the industry, 1 concatenation continues to defy each odds, with its loyal customers practically begging for the accidental to walk their wealth connected its chickenhearted sandwiches and waffle fries.

For the 11th consecutive year, Chick-fil-A has been named the apical quick-service restaurant, earning a dependable people of 83 successful the 2025 American Customer Satisfaction Index Restaurant and Food Delivery Study.

If it feels similar fast-food prices person skyrocketed successful caller years, it's due to the fact that they have, and there's information to enactment this claim.

Fast-food paper prices successful the assemblage accrued betwixt 39% and 100% from 2014 to 2024, outpacing the national inflation rate of 33% during the aforesaid period, according to Finance Buzz.

The prices astatine Chick-fil-A, Arby's, Burger King, and Wendy's (WEN) person each climbed astir 55% implicit the past decade, which seems similar a tiny emergence compared to McDonald's (MCD), whose prices person surged by 100% since 2014, according to the FinanceBuzz data.

More Chick-Fil-A:

• Chick-fil-A launches a caller drinks-based edifice brand

• Chick-fil-A unveils first-ever innovation to accelerate planetary growth

• Chick-fil-A is making a large alteration to 425 restaurants nationwide

These increases are mostly driven by rising food, labor, and operational costs, pressures that analysts expect to continue.

"There were accrued commodity costs. We've seen those commencement to normalize," said Stephens expert Jim Salera to CNBC. "But what continues to beryllium up of humanities averages is the summation successful labour costs that restaurants are seeing."

Even with prices much than doubling since 2014, Chick-fil-A's popularity shows nary signs of slowing.

The concatenation generated implicit $9 cardinal successful full gross successful 2024, representing a astir 14% summation from the erstwhile year, and achieved $22.7 cardinal successful system-wide sales, which person been steadily rising year-over-year.

• 2024: $22.7 billion

• 2023: $21.6 billion

• 2022: $18.8 billion

• 2021: $16.7 billion

• 2020: $13.7 billion

• 2019: $12.2 billion
  Source: QSR Magazine

"Chick-fil-A undeniably boasts 1 of the champion fast-food concepts successful the world," Franchise Sidekick Founder & CEO Ryan Zink told Entrepreneur. "It has mastered the creation of focus, prime and lawsuit service."

However, Zink noted that the chain's franchise exemplary offers constricted exit worth and maturation imaginable compared to different opportunities, thing aspiring franchisees should consider.

"While Chick-fil-A whitethorn beryllium a imagination travel existent for immoderate fortunate individuals, it whitethorn not align with the aspirations of those seeking scalable and semipermanent franchise investments," Zink added.

Known for its committedness to section communities and slow, deliberate growth, Chick-fil-A is present broadening its horizons astir 60 years aft its founding successful 1967.

• Total restaurants: 3,109
  Company-owned restaurants: 55 Franchised restaurants: 2,629 Licensed restaurants: 425 Source: Chick-fil-A Franchise Disclosure Document

Recently, the concatenation has begun expanding internationally aft years of operating exclusively successful North America. In 2025, it opened its first two overseas restaurants, including 1 successful Leeds, England, and different acceptable to debut successful mid-December successful Singapore.

"Chick-fil-A lone has 3,000 locations nationwide, a comparatively tiny fig compared to different accelerated nutrient chains, which is arguably 1 of its top assets," said Tasting Table Food and Culture Journalist Brian Udall. "People are consenting to spell retired of their mode to question to the nearest Chick-fil-A due to the fact that the nutrient is truthful good, and capitalizing connected that marketplace request done little overhead costs is nary tiny portion of however Chick-fil-A has go the 3rd astir palmy accelerated nutrient concatenation successful the country."

Related: This iconic meal concatenation softly astir doubles immoderate prices

This communicative was primitively published by TheStreet connected Dec 13, 2025, wherever it archetypal appeared successful the Economy section. Add TheStreet arsenic a Preferred Source by clicking here.