Arby’sFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Arby’s franchise requires a total initial investment of $652K – $2.5M, including a $38K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 18.2% charge-off rate across 198 loans[1]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $652K – $2.5M
- 89th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 42nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 3,265
- 98th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 18.2%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Large franchise systems benefit from brand recognition, supply chain leverage, and proven operations.
Bottom line
- Total investment $652K – $2.5M including a $38K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.2M).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 18.2% across 198 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Established system with 3,265 units across 11 years of franchising. Strong brand recognition and operational playbook.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- ARBY’S FRANCHISOR, LLC
- Parent company
- Inspire Brands, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- Three Glenlake Parkway NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30328
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $204.9M
- vs $191.7M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service restaurants serving roast beef sandwiches and menu items, managing food preparation, inventory, staffing, customer service, and point-of-sale operations. Day-to-day activities include labor scheduling, food cost management, drive-thru operations (where applicable), and brand compliance with corporate marketing and operational standards. Franchisees are responsible for rent, utilities, payroll, and local marketing while paying 4-6.2% of gross sales in ongoing royalties.
- CEO
- David Graves
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 1964
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 47
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development Fee | $6K | $13K | |
| Franchise Fee | $0 | $38K | |
| Fees and Expenses During Training | $10K | $25K | |
| Lease Deposits and Payments | $12K | $50K | |
| Site Costs | $0 | $451K | |
| Landscaping | $0 | $45K | |
| Civil & Architectural Drawings / Professional Fees | $40K | $152K | |
| Zoning / Permitting Costs | $1K | $112K | |
| Building Costs | $400K | $850K | |
| Equipment | $225K | $325K | |
| Computer Hardware and Software / POS | $32K | $55K | |
| Decor Package | $11K | $35K | |
| Signage & Drive Thru | $44K | $88K | |
| Pre-Opening Wages | $21K | $41K | |
| Opening Inventory | $18K | $26K | |
| Insurance | $10K | $16K | |
| Working Capital / Additional Funds | $33K | $100K | |
| Rent (one month) | $4K | $10K | |
| Business Licenses, Health Permits, Utilities Deposits | $1K | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $869K | $2.5M |
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.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$163K
12.8% margin
Unlevered ROIC
10%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
9.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $652K – $2.5M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $33K – $100K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $38K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.2%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.2%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.2% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $62 |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Total fee load | 9.2% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Item 19 type
- AUV
- Sample size
- 2182 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $390K→$4.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $809K→$1.9M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Arby’s Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3,265
- Opened
- 136
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 78
- Terminated
- 136
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 8
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 2.4%
- Company-owned
- 921
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 72%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +2.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +1.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 57
- Transfer rate
- 2.8%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 96.8%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 7.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 3.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 47 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Michigan
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 198
- Loan volume
- $122.5M
- Median loan
- $493K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 18.2%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 81.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 73
- Defaults
- 33
Vintage analysis
Arby’s charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Arby's presents moderate-to-cautionary risk due to stagnant growth, material litigation affecting brand reputation, opaque profitability disclosure, and elevated royalty burdens on a $1.27M revenue base.
Litigation (Item 3)
17 case reference(s): 3 pending, 7 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $625,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01MINORSlow unit growth of only 2.5% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee underperformance in mature system
- 02MINORMultiple class action lawsuits regarding product misrepresentation (meat quantity/wagyu content) and data security breaches damage brand reputation and consumer trust
- 03MEDNo disclosed average net income despite $1.27M average revenue creates opacity around actual franchisee profitability and ROI
- 04MEDHigh royalty rates (4-6.2%) combined with undisclosed net margins make it difficult to validate ROI on $651k-$2.45M investment
- 05HIGHNo-poaching litigation and multi-state settlements indicate hostile franchisor-franchisee relations and potential labor recruitment restrictions
- 06MINORWide investment range ($1.8M spread) suggests highly variable unit economics depending on location/format, increasing execution risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 20 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 8 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
17 case reference(s): 3 pending, 7 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 336 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- PAR Brink
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: PAR Brink
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2,370 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Arby’s · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Arby’s franchise?
The total investment to open a Arby’s franchise ranges from $652K – $2.5M, with an initial franchise fee of $38K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Arby’s franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Arby’s FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Arby’s's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Arby’s has a charge-off rate of 18.2% across 198 loans, meaning 18.2% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Arby’s franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Arby’s has 3,265 total units in the United States, including 2,316 franchised units and 921 company-owned units. 136 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Arby’s a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Arby’s as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 55 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.