Starbucks is a genuine candidate for the world's largest fast-food company after a recent earnings call.
The Seattle-based coffee chain has 34,317 stores and is expanding faster than McDonald's and Subway.
Starbucks has opened 3,061 shops since 2020, increasing rivalry with McDonald's.
The coffee giant launched 1,173 net new outlets in 2021 and 484 in the first quarter of 2022, with aspirations to build 2,000 this year.
McDonald's has established 1,650 net new outlets since 2020 and plans to add 1,800 in 2022.
Subway, though, seems to be declining. Despite having roughly 40,000 sites globally, the sandwich giant has been slowly closing shops owing to poor revenues.
Subway reportedly closed more restaurants than any other chain in 2020. (although the exact number of closures, which some say was over 2,000, is disputed by the company.)
Starbucks may soon overtake Subway's worldwide reach due to this bad tendency. Starbucks faces challenges, though.
Customers are frustrated by price rises and ingredient shortages, which the firm blames on inflation and supply chain concerns.