Wendy's tops Burger King in U.S. sales

Wendy's has dethroned Burger King as the country's second biggest hamburger chain. It edged out Burger King in U.S. sales volume for the first time since Wendy's was founded in 1969, food industry research firm Technomic Inc. said in a report that's set to be released next month.

Wendy's had sales of $8.5 billion in 2011, compared with $8.4 billion for Burger King. McDonald's remained larger than both with $34.2 billion in sales.

The figures are based on Technomic's estimates of systemwide sales at franchise and company-owned restaurants, rather than corporate revenue, which includes fees from franchise operators.

Worldwide, Burger King still has far more restaurants than Wendy's and remains the second biggest hamburger chain behind McDonald's.

The sales rankings for the top five restaurant chains have undergone a dramatic shift in the past five years, according to Technomic. In 2006 the No. 2 and 3 spots were held by Burger King and Wendy's respectively, making the top three companies all hamburger chains.

Subway now is No. 2 with $11.4 billion in sales last year, and Starbucks is No. 3 with $9.8 billion.