Rankings · Item 19 disclosures · 2026

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.

Compiled from official source data by Plainfranchise Editorial
50
Revenue disclosures compared
50
Reported $1M+ average revenue
9
Sectors represented
Do not read revenue as profit: gross sales do not reveal rent, payroll, local demand, debt service, taxes, owner pay, or the costs retained by a franchisee. Use this screen to identify FDDs worth reading with a franchise attorney and CPA, not to choose an investment.

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

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.

Source Franchise Disclosure Documents, Item 19 As of 2026
# Franchise Disclosed revenueMin. investmentRoyaltyTotal units
1 Chick-fil-A food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $5.80M $343K 15.0% 2,972
2 Hampton Inn travel-hospitality · Item 19 disclosure $4.20M $10.00M 6.0% 2,700
3 Buffalo Wild Wings food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $3.60M $1.70M 5.0% 1,260
4 Applebee's food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $3.20M $2.00M 4.0% 1,600
5 McDonald's food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $2.90M $1.01M 4.0% 40,275
6 Culver's food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $2.80M $2.10M 4.0% 930
7 La Quinta travel-hospitality · Item 19 disclosure $2.80M $4.10M 5.0% 1,100
8 IHOP food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $2.70M $1.70M 4.5% 1,800
9 Ace Hardware retail · Item 19 disclosure $2.70M $650K Not reported 5,800
10 Panera Bread food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $2.50M $900K 5.0% 2,137
11 Primrose Schools education · Item 19 disclosure $2.50M $700K 7.0% 500
12 Goddard School education · Item 19 disclosure $2.20M $721K 7.0% 600
13 Denny's food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $2.10M $1.30M 4.5% 1,650
14 McAlister's Deli food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $2.00M $750K 5.0% 550
15 Slim Chickens food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $2.00M $773K 5.0% 220
16 Two Men and a Truck home-services · Item 19 disclosure $2.00M $185K 6.0% 400
17 Planet Fitness health-fitness · Item 19 disclosure $2.00M $970K 7.0% 2,600
18 The Learning Experience education · Item 19 disclosure $2.00M $562K 7.0% 500
19 Kiddie Academy education · Item 19 disclosure $2.00M $491K 7.0% 300
20 Snap-on Tools retail · Item 19 disclosure $1.90M $172K Not reported 4,600
21 Popeyes food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.80M $383K 5.0% 3,925
22 Jack in the Box food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.80M $1.45M 5.0% 2,200
23 Pet Supplies Plus retail · Item 19 disclosure $1.80M $483K 2.0% 700
24 Taco Bell food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.70M $577K 5.5% 8,228
25 Burger King food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.60M $1.84M 4.5% 18,765
26 Wendy's food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.60M $336K 4.0% 7,056
27 Wingstop food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.60M $336K 6.0% 2,128
28 Christian Brothers Automotive automotive · Item 19 disclosure $1.60M $495K 5.5% 270
29 Five Guys food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.50M $314K 6.0% 1,757
30 Pinch A Penny retail · Item 19 disclosure $1.50M $200K 3.0% 280
31 KFC food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.40M $1.44M 5.0% 26,934
32 Sonic Drive-In food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.40M $1.24M 5.0% 3,526
33 Tropical Smoothie Cafe food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.40M $282K 6.0% 1,300
34 Home Instead senior-care · Item 19 disclosure $1.40M $125K 5.0% 1,200
35 Domino's food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.30M $131K 5.5% 19,762
36 Arby's food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.30M $342K 4.0% 3,511
37 Camp Bow Wow pet-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's food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.20M $180K 6.5% 2,800
40 Nothing Bundt Cakes food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.20M $440K 7.0% 570
41 Sola Salon Studios retail · Item 19 disclosure $1.20M $1.90M 5.5% 700
42 Servpro home-services · Item 19 disclosure $1.20M $218K 10.0% 2,200
43 Orangetheory Fitness health-fitness · Item 19 disclosure $1.20M $563K 8.0% 1,400
44 Visiting Angels senior-care · Item 19 disclosure $1.20M $78K Not reported 700
45 BrightStar Care senior-care · Item 19 disclosure $1.20M $102K 5.8% 370
46 Senior Helpers senior-care · Item 19 disclosure $1.20M $67K 5.0% 370
47 Right at Home senior-care · Item 19 disclosure $1.20M $80K 5.0% 700
48 Pizza Hut food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.10M $367K 6.0% 18,381
49 Dairy Queen food-beverage · Item 19 disclosure $1.10M $1.08M 4.0% 6,800
50 Papa John's food-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 · 2026 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

Every figure on PlainFranchise is rendered directly from Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page ranks voluntarily disclosed gross revenue, never profit or expected investment returns. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.