CMGChipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

Chipotle cooks Mexican food in restaurants it owns and refuses on principle to sell franchises.

Refusing to franchise sets it apart from almost every large chain: the company builds restaurants itself, hires the staff itself and keeps all the revenue rather than a royalty. That demands capital and makes growth slower, but gives full control over quality and price — and explains the unusually high sales per location.

The economics come down to throughput: the queue at the counter and a separate line for takeaway orders determine how much can be sold at peak hour. Hence the investment in equipment that speeds up assembling a bowl. Risks: avocado and beef prices, labour costs and food-safety reputational episodes, which this chain has already lived through. The company pays no dividend.