American Restaurants Profitability & Financial Benchmarks

Company owners, investors, lenders, and other stakeholders rely on key financial benchmarks to evaluate the health and performance of individual businesses relative to their peers. This report provides an overview of high-level average financial benchmarks of American Restaurant businesses in the United States, with a focus on sales and profitability trends.

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Average American Restaurant Business Revenue Trends

Revenue represents the total sales of a business, plus any additional revenue generated by non-operating activities, such as interest or investment income. Below you will find trends in average annual revenue of American Restaurant businesses in the U.S. State-level data is available here.

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Year	Average Annual Revenue	YoY % Change	# of Businesses Analyzed
2020	$1,371,843	-	21,168
2021	$1,401,239	2.14%	20,236
2022
2023
2024

Average annual revenue of American Restaurant businesses in the U.S.

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Average American Restaurant Business Gross Profit Trends

Gross profit represents the amount of money a business makes before accounting for operating expenses. It is calculated as revenue – cost of goods sold (COGS). Gross profit margin is a critical measure of a business's ability to efficiently produce its core goods or deliver its core service. Below you will find trends in average annual gross profit and gross profit margin of American Restaurant businesses in the U.S. State-level data is available here.

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Year	Gross Profit	YoY % Change	Gross Profit Margin
2020	$843,135	-	61.46%
2021	$861,762	2.21%	61.50%
2022
2023
2024

Average annual gross profit and gross margin of American Restaurant businesses in the U.S.

Drivers of Gross Profit Margin

Sales Efficacy - American Restaurant businesses that can compete on customer service and higher quality jobs can maintain above average project pricing, driving up gross profits.

COGS Pricing Control – Businesses with access to quality materials at below average prices will maintain higher gross profit margins.

Average American Restaurant Business Pre-Tax Net Profit Trends

Net profit represents the amount of money a business makes after all operating expenses. It is calculated as gross profit – operating expenses. Net profit margin measures a business' management and operating efficiency. Below you will find trends in average pre-tax net profit and net profit margin of American Restaurant businesses in the U.S. State-level data is available here.

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Year	Pre-Tax Net Profit	YoY % Change	Net Profit Margin
2020	$41,155	-	3.00%
2021	$70,062	70.24%	5.00%
2022
2023
2024

Average annual pre-tax net profit and net margin of American Restaurant businesses in the U.S.

Drivers of Net Profit Margin

Expense Controls - Tight management of operating expenses is the primary driver of net profit margin.

Sales / Employee - American Restaurant businesses that fully utilize employee capacity and minimize downtime can positively affect profit margins.

High-Profit Services - American Restaurant businesses which can focus on higher profit services and recurring maintenance contracts will drive higher profit margins.

American Restaurant Business COGS & OPEX Trends

American Restaurant Trends in operating expenses (OPEX) and cost of goods sold (COGS) can provide visibility into the effects of economic pressures like inflation, and industry trends like automation or rising labor costs. Benchmarking businesses against these trends can surface how well a company is competing in terms of efficiency, cost controls, and pricing power. State-level data is available here.

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Year	COGS	OPEX	Net Profit
2020	$528,708	$795,669	$41,155
2021	$539,477	$798,706	$70,062
2022
2023
2024

Cost of goods sold (COGS), operating expenses (OPEX), and net profit of American Restaurant businesses as a percentage of revenue

Average American Restaurant Business Operating Expenses

Common operating expenses included on a standard income statement can be benchmarked to compare individual businesses to industry standards. Below you will find the primary operating expenses of American Restaurant businesses as a percentage of overall revenue. State-level data is available here.

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Expense Category	% of Revenue	Expense Category	% of Revenue
Salaries & Wages		Sales, General & Admin
Officers Comp		Benefits-Pensions
Rent		Advertising
Repairs		Bad Debt

Average operating expense as a percentage of revenue of American Restaurant businesses in the U.S. in 2026

American Restaurant Business Profitability & Efficiency Ratios

There are several important ratios that can be calculated from standard income statements and balance sheets which provide insight into the profitability and operational efficiency of an American Restaurant business relative to industry standards. These ratios are critical for evaluating potential business acquisitions and can help business buyers surface performance weaknesses and strengths during due diligence. The following are some of the most common ratios used to evaluate American Restaurant business performance:

EBITDA Margin = EBITDA / Total Revenue

EBITDA margin can help shed light on an American Restaurant business' operational profitability, and ignores the effects of taxes, financing, and certain accounting policies.

Pre-Tax Return on Assets = Pre-Tax Earnings / Total Assets * 100%

Pre-Tax Return on Assets shows how efficiently an American Restaurant business is using its assets to generate profit from its core operations, excluding the impact of taxes.

Profit Per Employee = Net Profit / # Employees

Profit Per Employee helps to assess how efficiently an American Restaurant business is leveraging its workforce to generate profit.

Fixed Asset Turnover = Revenue / Fixed Assets

Fixed Asset Turnover indicates how efficiently a company is using its long-term assets (like machinery, vehicles, and equipment) to generate revenue. A higher ratio suggests that the business is effectively using its productive capacity.

Sales Per Employee = Revenue / # Employees

Sales Per Employee is a critical measure of how effectively an American Restaurant business is utilizing its workforce to generate revenue.

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State & Industry Financial Reports for Business Evaluation & Due Diligence

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Benchmark Data Available

Income and Expenses

Business Revenue
Cost of Sales
Gross Profit
Operating Expenses
- Officers Compensation
- Salary & Wages
- Benefits & Pensions
- Rent
- Other Expenses
- Amortization & Depreciation
Operating Income
Other Revenue and Expenses
- Interest Income
- Interest Expense
- Other Income
Net Other Revenue (Expense)
Pre-Tax Net Profit

Balance Sheet

Current Assets
- Cash
- Receivables
- Inventory
- Other Current Assets
Fixed Assets
- Gross Fixed Assets
- Less Accumulated Depreciation
- Net Fixed Assets
Other Assets
- Other Non-Current Assets
Current Liabilities
- Accounts Payable
- Loans/Notes Payable
- Other Current Liabilities
Long-Term Liabilities
Equity

Financial Ratios: Cash Flow & Solvency

Current Ratio
Quick Ratio
Days Payable
Net Working Capital

Financial Ratios: Profitability

EBITDA/Business Revenue (%)
Pre-Tax Return on Assets (%)
Pre-Tax Return on Net Worth (%)
Gross Margin (%)

Financial Ratios: Efficiency

Assets/Business Revenue
Fixed Asset Turnover
Inventory Turnover
Receivables Turnover
Total Asset Turnover
Days Working Capital

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