Rankings · Item 19 disclosures · 2024
Most Profitable Franchises? Revenue Is Not Profit
Franchise Disclosure Documents do not report franchisee profit, so no public FDD ranking can identify the most profitable franchise. This table instead compares the highest disclosed average unit revenue, with startup investment and royalty costs beside it.
- 50
- Revenue disclosures compared
- 50
- Reported $1M+ average revenue
- 9
- Sectors represented
The direct answer
No FDD field in this dataset measures franchisee profit. These 50 brands voluntarily disclose average unit revenue in Item 19; 50 report at least $1 million, but only a brand's full disclosure and local operating costs can test profitability.
- $5.80M
- Highest disclosed revenue: Chick-fil-A
- 50
- Reported $1M+ average unit revenue
- 9
- Sectors to compare
Highest disclosed average unit revenue
Gross revenue reported in FDD Item 19; this does not measure franchisee profit
- Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A
$5,800 K average unit revenue
- Hampton Inn
Hampton Inn
$4,200 K average unit revenue
- Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings
$3,600 K average unit revenue
- Applebee's
Applebee's
$3,200 K average unit revenue
- McDonald's
McDonald's
$2,900 K average unit revenue
- Culver's
Culver's
$2,800 K average unit revenue
- La Quinta
La Quinta
$2,800 K average unit revenue
- IHOP
IHOP
$2,700 K average unit revenue
- Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware
$2,700 K average unit revenue
- Panera Bread
Panera Bread
$2,500 K average unit revenue
- Primrose Schools
Primrose Schools
$2,500 K average unit revenue
- Goddard School $2,200
Goddard School
$2,200 K average unit revenue
What this shows Chick-fil-A has the highest disclosed average unit revenue in this group. That is gross sales, not a profit estimate.
| # | Franchise | Disclosed revenue | Min. investment | Royalty | Total units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chick-fil-Afood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $5.80M | $343K | 15.0% | 2,972 |
| 2 | Hampton Inntravel-hospitality · Item 19 disclosure | $4.20M | $10.00M | 6.0% | 2,700 |
| 3 | Buffalo Wild Wingsfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $3.60M | $1.70M | 5.0% | 1,260 |
| 4 | Applebee'sfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $3.20M | $2.00M | 4.0% | 1,600 |
| 5 | McDonald'sfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $2.90M | $1.01M | 4.0% | 40,275 |
| 6 | Culver'sfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $2.80M | $2.10M | 4.0% | 930 |
| 7 | La Quintatravel-hospitality · Item 19 disclosure | $2.80M | $4.10M | 5.0% | 1,100 |
| 8 | IHOPfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $2.70M | $1.70M | 4.5% | 1,800 |
| 9 | Ace Hardwareretail · Item 19 disclosure | $2.70M | $650K | Not reported | 5,800 |
| 10 | Panera Breadfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $2.50M | $900K | 5.0% | 2,137 |
| 11 | Primrose Schoolseducation · Item 19 disclosure | $2.50M | $700K | 7.0% | 500 |
| 12 | Goddard Schooleducation · Item 19 disclosure | $2.20M | $721K | 7.0% | 600 |
| 13 | Denny'sfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $2.10M | $1.30M | 4.5% | 1,650 |
| 14 | McAlister's Delifood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $2.00M | $750K | 5.0% | 550 |
| 15 | Slim Chickensfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $2.00M | $773K | 5.0% | 220 |
| 16 | Two Men and a Truckhome-services · Item 19 disclosure | $2.00M | $185K | 6.0% | 400 |
| 17 | Planet Fitnesshealth-fitness · Item 19 disclosure | $2.00M | $970K | 7.0% | 2,600 |
| 18 | The Learning Experienceeducation · Item 19 disclosure | $2.00M | $562K | 7.0% | 500 |
| 19 | Kiddie Academyeducation · Item 19 disclosure | $2.00M | $491K | 7.0% | 300 |
| 20 | Snap-on Toolsretail · Item 19 disclosure | $1.90M | $172K | Not reported | 4,600 |
| 21 | Popeyesfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.80M | $383K | 5.0% | 3,925 |
| 22 | Jack in the Boxfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.80M | $1.45M | 5.0% | 2,200 |
| 23 | Pet Supplies Plusretail · Item 19 disclosure | $1.80M | $483K | 2.0% | 700 |
| 24 | Taco Bellfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.70M | $577K | 5.5% | 8,228 |
| 25 | Burger Kingfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.60M | $1.84M | 4.5% | 18,765 |
| 26 | Wendy'sfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.60M | $336K | 4.0% | 7,056 |
| 27 | Wingstopfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.60M | $336K | 6.0% | 2,128 |
| 28 | Christian Brothers Automotiveautomotive · Item 19 disclosure | $1.60M | $495K | 5.5% | 270 |
| 29 | Five Guysfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.50M | $314K | 6.0% | 1,757 |
| 30 | Pinch A Pennyretail · Item 19 disclosure | $1.50M | $200K | 3.0% | 280 |
| 31 | KFCfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.40M | $1.44M | 5.0% | 26,934 |
| 32 | Sonic Drive-Infood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.40M | $1.24M | 5.0% | 3,526 |
| 33 | Tropical Smoothie Cafefood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.40M | $282K | 6.0% | 1,300 |
| 34 | Home Insteadsenior-care · Item 19 disclosure | $1.40M | $125K | 5.0% | 1,200 |
| 35 | Domino'sfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.30M | $131K | 5.5% | 19,762 |
| 36 | Arby'sfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.30M | $342K | 4.0% | 3,511 |
| 37 | Camp Bow Wowpet-services · Item 19 disclosure | $1.30M | $877K | 7.0% | 200 |
| 38 | Dunkin'food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $229K | 5.9% | 9,579 |
| 39 | Jersey Mike'sfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $180K | 6.5% | 2,800 |
| 40 | Nothing Bundt Cakesfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $440K | 7.0% | 570 |
| 41 | Sola Salon Studiosretail · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $1.90M | 5.5% | 700 |
| 42 | Servprohome-services · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $218K | 10.0% | 2,200 |
| 43 | Orangetheory Fitnesshealth-fitness · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $563K | 8.0% | 1,400 |
| 44 | Visiting Angelssenior-care · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $78K | Not reported | 700 |
| 45 | BrightStar Caresenior-care · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $102K | 5.8% | 370 |
| 46 | Senior Helperssenior-care · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $67K | 5.0% | 370 |
| 47 | Right at Homesenior-care · Item 19 disclosure | $1.20M | $80K | 5.0% | 700 |
| 48 | Pizza Hutfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.10M | $367K | 6.0% | 18,381 |
| 49 | Dairy Queenfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.10M | $1.08M | 4.0% | 6,800 |
| 50 | Papa John'sfood-beverage · Item 19 disclosure | $1.10M | $130K | 5.0% | 5,752 |
How to compare franchise economics without inventing a profit ranking
Item 19 is voluntary and the reported population differs by brand. A high average can reflect a limited set of established units, while a lower number can reflect a newer, broader, or differently operated system. Read the original Item 19 to see which outlets were included and how the franchisor defines revenue.
Then put the revenue figure beside the Item 7 startup range, Item 6 royalty and advertising fees, and Item 20 openings, transfers, non-renewals, and closures. Those filings still cannot predict a local operator's costs or results, but they make better diligence questions than a generic "most profitable" list.
The methodology explains how this site compiles FDD fields. The Federal Trade Commission's Franchise Rule guide explains the disclosure framework.
Source: Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs) Items 6, 7, 19, and 20 · 2024 Ranked only by voluntarily disclosed average unit revenue in Item 19. Revenue is gross sales, not franchisee profit; investment, royalty, and unit-count fields are displayed for comparison.
Compare one disclosed signal at a time
PlainFranchise currently publishes an editorial comparison registry. This release does not yet link every displayed figure to its underlying FDD and retrieval date, so do not treat a registry value as a verified source record. Verify a material figure in the brand's current FDD before relying on it. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.
| Publisher | PlainFranchise |
| Sources | Public state franchise disclosure registries and FDD filings |