The following is a snapshot of US Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) trends for Q2 2026.

Note: Trends may vary slightly depending on data availability at the time of reporting.

Q2 2026 QSR Performance Summary

QSR Sales, Traffic & Pricing Trends Overview

Net Sales

In Q2 2026, U.S. QSR net sales grew +2.0% YOY, indicating a softening of the market after the same level of growth in Q1 2026. Brands that took a more strategic, data-driven approach to pricing were able to protect margin throughout the tumultuous end of 2025.

Traffic

In Q2 2026, U.S. QSR traffic was down -1.2% YOY compared to Q2 2025, which saw a decrease of -1.1% YOY. While still negative, the pace of decline has eased compared to Q4 2025, signaling early signs of stabilization.

Average Price

Fast-food brands posted a +1.2% YOY price change in Q2 2026. Price increases are slowly stabilizing with this quarter coming in close to last quarter’s +1.4% YOY increase. Rising oil, beef and other key ingredient costs continue to push menu prices upward, but brands are increasingly weighing those cost pressures against the need to hold value for guests, a difficult balance as traffic remains under pressure.

Where Can Restaurants Grow From Here?

Not every category is feeling the pressure equally, and the data shows where guests are still spending. New consumer research from Revenue Management Solutions indicates that more than 1 in 4 restaurant guests are already buying specialty beverages weekly, and 14% are even coming back multiple times a week. For operators, that repeat buyer segment is a strong opportunity worth targeting. See more insights and strategies for converting sales in RMS’ latest beverage report.

What This Means for Operators: The multiple-times-a-week buyers are a small slice of guests, but they punch above their weight in revenue. Keep them coming back with loyalty rewards and make sure specialty beverages are easy to find on your menu. Restaurant solutions like Menu Engineering can help brands feature high-margin items like specialty beverages more prominently to drive profitability.

What’s Driving Restaurant Growth & Decline?

RMS continues to analyze QSR growth drivers to understand if sales is driven by traffic (number of customers), average check (spending per customer), or both. As a reminder, restaurants can grow sales in different ways:

• Balanced Growth: Both traffic and average check increase. This indicates healthy momentum.
• Check-Driven Growth: Sales increase primarily through higher prices or upselling. This can increase short-term profit but introduces long-term traffic risk.
• Traffic-Driven Growth: Rising guest counts while average check stays flat.

Similarly, not all declines are the same:

• A restaurant might see declining traffic, but spending per guest is stable.
• Traffic could be steady, but average checks are lower.
• Worst case, traffic is slowing and average check is lower, indicating Systematic Decline.

Key Observations of Q2 2026 Growth Drivers

Overall, 56.3% of QSR stores are growing when you combine those in Balanced Growth, Check-Driven Growth and Traffic-Driven Growth. However, pressure remains for the rest of the segment, and the shape of that pressure has changed. Decline is now increasingly a traffic problem rather than a systematic one.

Balanced Growth Cools Slightly

Balanced Growth decreased slightly from last quarter to 35.8% in Q2 2026, but remains above Q2 2025 levels. More than one in three QSR stores are growing both traffic and check simultaneously, a sign that well-positioned brands are finding their footing again after a difficult fourth quarter last year.

Traffic Losses Persist

Traffic-Driven Decline climbed to 36.3% in Q2 2026, up from 27.8% in Q2 2025. More stores are losing guests despite keeping price increases modest, suggesting value perception is becoming more important than price alone.

Systematic Decline Has Improved

The share of QSR stores in Systematic Decline has improved compared to last year, decreasing from 17.5% in Q2 2025 to 6.5% in Q2 2026. However, traffic and check pressures remain a persistent challenge for the bottom tier in the current economic climate.

The Bottom Line: Q2 2026 brings a cautious recovery at the top, but the gap between operators in Balanced Growth and those in Systematic Decline is still on the line. The brands gaining ground are doing so through consistency and guest value, not favorable macro conditions.

Consultant’s Corner

World Cup 2026: What Restaurant Operators Need to Know About Traffic & Sales

With the World Cup now in its final stretch, data from 7,000+ restaurant locations shows the stakes are real. The right operators can see sales climb 8% to 20%, while unprepared competitors in soccer-heavy markets risk a 1.4% dip. With millions of fans still celebrating, there’s still time to get it right. Find your success strategy.