7-Eleven Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
7-Eleven is the largest convenience-store franchise, selling fresh and hot food, proprietary drinks like the Slurpee, private-label goods, and fuel at many sites. Franchisees run extended-hour stores managing inventory, staffing, and daily retail operations.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A 7-Eleven franchise requires a total initial investment of $142K – $1.6M. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $142K – $1.6M
- 15th pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 8,254
- 45th pct Retail
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Retail · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Retail avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $142K – $1.6M.
- RETURNSItem 19 discloses only state-by-state historic averages/medians of total sales and gross profit in a separate Exhibit H not captured in this extracted text; no consolidated system-wide figures given in narrative.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 78/100 (higher is better).
- LEGAL28 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- 7-Eleven, Inc.
- Parent company
- SEJ Asset Management & Investment Company
- Ultimate parent
- Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd.
- CEO title
- Chairman of the Board (7-Eleven, Inc.); CEO/President of Seven & i Holdings
- Stephen Dacus
- Incorporated in
- Texas
- HQ
- 3200 Hackberry Road, Irving, Texas 75063
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $52.6B
- vs $56.8B prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Stephen Dacus
- Headquarters
- Texas
- Founded
- 1961
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 14
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 115% above the typical retail franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $0 | $1.1M | |
| Training expenses | $0 | $14K | |
| Down Payment for opening inventory | $20K | $20K | |
| Additional opening inventory | $42K | $240K | |
| Cash Register Fund | $3K | $15K | |
| Store supplies | $1K | $4K | |
| Licenses and permits | $7K | $11K | |
| Real estate and equipment | — | — | |
| Insurance | $2K | $36K | |
| Grand Opening Fee | $8K | $8K | |
| Goodwill | — | — | |
| Additional funds during first 3 months | $60K | $180K | |
| Total initial investment | $142K | $1.6M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $142K – $1.6M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $66K – $198K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- N/A
- Paid to franchisor at signing
- Royalty
- Variable "7-Eleven Charge" royalty based on Gross Profit …
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 1.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Variable percentage of Gross Profit via tiered base-plus-marginal-rate formula; not a single flat rate. |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% |
| Renewal fee | $50K |
| Inventory (initial) | $53K – $258K |
| Total fee load | 1.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for 7-Eleven is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one 7-Eleven unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, royalty rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 discloses only state-by-state historic averages/medians of total sales and gross profit in a separate Exhibit H not captured in this extracted text; no consolidated system-wide figures given in narrative.
- Item 19 type
- Historic state-level averages/medians of total sales, gross profit, gross profit % and consigned gasoline commissions for franchised stores, provided per-state in Exhibit H (not included in extracted text)
- Sample size
- 241 outlets
- vs category median 46 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $525K→$4.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · typical
Compared against 278 Retail brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 1.0% — below the Retail average of 9.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports revenue alongside profit figures rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+0.4% 3-year CAGR) with 8,254 units.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Retail averages
How 7-Eleven Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 8,254
- Opened
- 300
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 316
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.8%
- Company-owned
- 1,025
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 88%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +0.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 277
- Closed (3yr)
- 83
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 190
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 167
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 37.9%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 16
- Loan volume
- $5.0M
- Median loan
- $315K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- no resolved loans yet — rate needs a terminal outcome
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
7-Eleven presents moderate-to-high risk due to shrinking unit base, extensive litigation, opaque profitability metrics, unprotected territories, and unclear royalty calculations despite strong revenue averages.
Litigation (Item 3)
Numerous franchisee-initiated suits (wrongful termination, breach of contract, misrepresentation, FTC Franchise Rule/state franchise-act claims) and franchisor-initiated trademark/post-termination enforcement suits; also two FTC antitrust/consent-order matters (Sunoco divestiture Consent Order and Speedway acquisition Order), with a 2025 stipulated judgment requiring a $4.5M civil penalty for a Consent Order violation.
Largest disclosed settlement: $4,500,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 78 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-0.2% YoY) signals system contraction despite massive franchise base
- 02HIGHSignificant litigation history involving wrongful termination, breach of contract, fraudulent inducement, and FTC actions suggests systemic franchisor-franchisee relationship issues
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; franchisees may cannibalize each other's sales in overlapping areas
- 04MEDVariable royalty structure tied to Gross Profit (not Net) is opaque and difficult to forecast; actual percentage rates not disclosed
- 05MEDHigh initial investment ceiling ($1.6M+) combined with undisclosed profitability creates severe ROI uncertainty
- 06MINOR15-year term is lengthy with no clear exit strategy articulated, locking franchisees into declining system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 1.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 15 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 2 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 18 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 14 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Texas (mediation at mutually accessible neutral location in market area; other actions in Texas courts) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 28 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Numerous franchisee-initiated suits (wrongful termination, breach of contract, misrepresentation, FTC Franchise Rule/state franchise-act claims) and franchisor-initiated trademark/post-termination enforcement suits; also two FTC antitrust/consent-order matters (Sunoco divestiture Consent Order and Speedway acquisition Order), with a 2025 stipulated judgment requiring a $4.5M civil penalty for a Consent Order violation.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 280 hrs
- Training location
- Store Support Center (Irving, TX) and a 7-Eleven Training Store
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Store Information System (SIS)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Store Information System (SIS)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1,142 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
7-Eleven · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a 7-Eleven franchise?
The total investment to open a 7-Eleven franchise ranges from $142K – $1.6M. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do 7-Eleven franchise owners earn?
No average owner earnings figure for 7-Eleven is on file. Item 19 — where a franchisor may disclose what its outlets earn — is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and we have not established what this brand's FDD says. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
What is Item 19 in the 7-Eleven FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the 7-Eleven FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is 7-Eleven's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for 7-Eleven (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many 7-Eleven franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, 7-Eleven has 8,254 total units in the United States, including 7,229 franchised units and 1,025 company-owned units. 300 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is 7-Eleven a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates 7-Eleven as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 78 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.