Bottom line
- Total investment $38K – $58K including a $25K franchise fee, 1.3% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 69/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -7.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one ACFN unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
192%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
ACFN franchisees operate [BRAND TYPE NOT PROVIDED - request clarification]. Day-to-day operations likely involve customer acquisition, service/product delivery, and local marketing within their unprotected territory while paying 1.25% brand fees to corporate.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
ACFN presents HIGH RISK due to contracting unit count, absence of financial disclosures, questionable franchisor financial health, unprotected territories, and lack of performance benchmarks.
Score breakdown · what drove the 69 / 100 rating
- 01MINORSystem shrinking rapidly: 210 units declining 9.9% year-over-year indicates deteriorating franchisee satisfaction and/or market demand
- 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure: Absence of Item 19 financial performance data prevents ROI assessment and suggests franchisor may lack strong performer data
- 03HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE: Indicates the franchisor itself may have financial stability issues or internal operational challenges
- 04MINORUnprotected territory: Franchisees face direct competition from other franchisees in same area, increasing business risk and margin compression
- 05MINORLow royalty rate (1.25%) masks potential profitability concerns: May indicate franchisor cannot extract sustainable fees, suggesting unit economics are weak
- 06MINORModest franchise fee ($25,000) relative to total investment suggests low barriers to entry and potential oversaturation risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
98 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
ACFN · FDD (2026) PDF