Blindside Weekly
4 structural threats the market isn't pricing — and where each one sits on the scale.
This week on Blindside — 4 structural threats the market isn't pricing yet. The heaviest: Delivery Apps Skim Fast Food's Profit, about $8.8bn/yr at risk. Here's where each one sits:
Three apps holding 93% of US delivery skim 15–30% on nearly a quarter of fast-food orders — draining an estimated $8.8 billion a year in profit. Chains' own apps are fighting back, but reliance is a permanent leak.
Blindside index 59 · about $8.8bn/yr at risk →
Fast-food chains are pushing protein-heavy menus exactly as beef hits record prices and the US cattle herd falls to a 75-year low. The gap between soaring costs and slower menu increases could cost the sector $4.2 billion a year.
Blindside index 55 · about $4.2bn/yr at risk →
New 2026 federal franchise rules hit renewals and transfers first, pushing cost and legal risk back onto fast-food brand owners. FASTMaster models a $2.5 billion yearly drag — and a 57% chance it sticks.
Blindside index 49 · about $2.5bn/yr at risk →
Drive-thru visits are falling 5 to 8% a year and have dropped from 83% to 63% of fast-food sales since 2020 — yet the land still trades like it's scarce. About $5.1 billion of sales a year is at risk.
Blindside index 51 · about $5.1bn/yr at risk →
The industry built to scale is now being crushed by the very size it spent decades chasing.
The full-sector picture →
Every entry links to its live model — drag the assumptions and watch the range move. Blindside · FASTMaster Intelligence.
