New Resource from National Restaurant Association Provides Insights into Operational Realities

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dampened customer traffic and stubbornly elevated costs combined to keep pressure on the bottom line, resulting in modest profit margins – even by restaurant standards – according to the National Restaurant Association. Released today, the Restaurant Operations Data Abstract provides restaurant operators, investors, and industry leaders with a detailed financial snapshot of the fullservice and limited-service sectors.

Based on financial and operational data from more than 900 restaurants nationwide, the report includes a wide range of insights across key cost centers. These include food and beverage costs, salaries and wages, occupancy, utilities, marketing, and general operating expenses. The report helps operators identify potential financial risks, sharpen performance strategies, and better understand how similar types of businesses are navigating today's economic environment.

"In today's margin-sensitive environment, visibility into cost structure is critical," said Chad Moutray, chief economist at the National Restaurant Association. "This report helps operators understand where their resources are going and where they may have room to improve efficiency or redirect spending."

Key findings from the report include:

• Fullservice restaurants reported a median income before taxes of 2.8 percent of sales while limited-service restaurants reported a median income before taxes of 4.0 percent
  
  
• Prime costs including food, beverage, and labor were a median of 65 cents of every sales dollar in the limited-service segment
  
  
• Labor remains the largest single operating expense, with payroll and benefits representing a median of 36.5 percent of sales in the fullservice segment

The report presents results by key operational attributes, including average check size, annual sales volume, restaurant location, and community size. This enables a more tailored view of performance across different types of businesses operating throughout the United States.

The Abstract also includes the popular "Analyze Your Operation" worksheet, which allows users to compare their own income and expense figures against the data in the report. The tool is designed to help operators flag discrepancies, identify emerging trends, and make proactive adjustments to strengthen business performance.

Find more information about 2025 Restaurant Operations Data Abstract and purchase a copy here.

About the National Restaurant Association

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 15.7 million employees. Together with 52 State Associations, we are a network of professional organizations dedicated to serving every restaurant through advocacy, education, and food safety. We sponsor the industry's largest trade show (National Restaurant Association Show); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart). For more information, visit restaurant.org and find @WeRRestaurants on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

SOURCE National Restaurant Association