Chick-fil-A Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
This Chick-fil-A program licenses quick-service, limited-menu units in captive-audience venues like schools, hospitals, workplaces, and airports, serving its signature chicken sandwiches. It is separate from Chick-fil-A's free-standing Operator restaurants; licensees run the in-venue unit managing food prep, service, and staff.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chick-fil-A franchise requires a total initial investment of $586K – $3.4M, including a $10K franchise fee and an ongoing 10.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $9.3M[2]. 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
- $586K – $3.4M
- 82nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $9.3M
- 34th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- 90th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2,684
- 95th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants 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 $586K – $3.4M including a $10K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $9.3M/year (median $9.2M).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 86/100 (higher is better).
- TERMSNo protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Chick-fil-A, Inc.
- CEO title
- Director and Chief Executive Officer
- Andrew T. Cathy
- Incorporated in
- Georgia
- HQ
- 5200 Buffington Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30349-2998
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $10.3B
- vs $9.1B prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Andrew T. Cathy
- Headquarters
- Georgia
- Founded
- 1964
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 49
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 206% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown6 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $10K | $10K | |
| Opening Inventory | $22K | $84K | |
| First Month's Rental of Equipment | $750 | $5K | |
| First Month's Lease/Sublease of Premises | $3K | $96K | |
| First Month's Insurance Expense | $260 | $10K | |
| Additional Funds | $391K | $2.1M | |
| Total initial investment | $427K | $2.3M |
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
- $586K – $3.4M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $149K – $951K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $10K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 15.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 10.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $15K |
| Transfer fee | $0 |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $12K – $65K |
| Total fee load | 15.0% of rev |
At 15.0% total fee load, roughly $1398K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 671% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$1.1M
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
44%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
27 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Chick-fil-A unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
44%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Chick-fil-A units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
23.6%
2.89× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
3.69×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$27.6M
on $46.6M purchase
Total debt
$19.0M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
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
- Avg gross sales
- $9.3M
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $9.2M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- average, median, high/low by segment
- Sample size
- 2,179
- vs category median 20 · large
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is 4.6x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $9.3M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.6x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 15.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 12.4% CAGR over 3 years across 2,684 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Chick-fil-A Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2,684
- Opened
- 18
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Terminated
- 19
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.5%
- Company-owned
- 55
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +12.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +12.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 18
- Closed (3yr)
- 19
- Terminated (3yr)
- 19
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 49 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
- California
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $3.4M
- Median loan
- $1.7M
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (2 loans) — rate not shown below 10
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
- 2
- Defaults
- N/A
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
Chick-fil-A presents a moderate-to-cautious risk profile with an attractive brand but concerning royalty structure, opaque profitability metrics, and weak contractual protections that warrant deep validation with current franchisees before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Data breach class action (Stephens/Strawn) settled for $210,000; five consolidated delivery-fee misrepresentation class actions (Mayheu, Pittman, Ukpere, Goldstein, Ortega) settled for $4,400,000; Brown delivery-fee class action settled for $129,000 plus arbitration settlements of $58,500. No franchisees named as defendants in any case.
Largest disclosed settlement: $4,400,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 86 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORExtremely high royalty burden: 15% base fee plus 50% of net receipts creates potential 25-35% total fee exposure on typical QSR margins (6-9% net)
- 02MINOROne-year term with no territory protection creates renewal uncertainty and vulnerability to encroachment
- 03HIGHRecent litigation history (cybersecurity and delivery fee class actions) indicates compliance and transparency issues
- 04MINORModest unit growth of 5.4% YoY is below industry standards for mature QSR brands and suggests market saturation
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 15.0% 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 | 1 year |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 1 year |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 0 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 15 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 7 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Atlanta, Georgia (litigation forum; no arbitration) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 7 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Data breach class action (Stephens/Strawn) settled for $210,000; five consolidated delivery-fee misrepresentation class actions (Mayheu, Pittman, Ukpere, Goldstein, Ortega) settled for $4,400,000; Brown delivery-fee class action settled for $129,000 plus arbitration settlements of $58,500. No franchisees named as defendants in any case.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 102 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 98 hrs
- Training location
- Chick-fil-A Support Center: Buffington, Atlanta, GA (in-person) and via Zoom (virtual)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2,139 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Chick-fil-A · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Chick-fil-A franchise?
The total investment to open a Chick-fil-A franchise ranges from $586K – $3.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $10K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Chick-fil-A franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Chick-fil-A FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $9.3M. The median is $9.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Chick-fil-A 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 Chick-fil-A FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Chick-fil-A's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Chick-fil-A (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 Chick-fil-A franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Chick-fil-A has 2,684 total units in the United States, including 2,629 franchised units and 55 company-owned units. 18 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Chick-fil-A a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Chick-fil-A as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 86 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.