While year-over-year sales dropped at several leading brands, the picture brightened further down the list as franchised brands reached new heights with record-breaking sales, significant gains in unit counts and an ongoing push into new corners of the globe.

Outside the eye-popping declines posted by the largest brands, our Top 200+ ranking confirms that, unequivocally, franchised brands continue to grab an ever-growing share of the American economy. This year’s top 200 companies produced a combined $596.1 billion in systemwide sales during 2015.

Based on total worldwide system sales, our ranking rewards systems for how much they sell in a given year, rather than how many units they build. With Hertz dropping out of the Top 200+ and replaced by RE/MAX, the five remaining brands in the top 10 all saw healthy increases during 2015. Burger King added $287 million in new sales, Ace Hardware was up $557 million, RE/MAX added $1.18 billion, Wendy’s gained $405 million and Marriott Hotels and Resorts added $400 million to its top line.