Chick-fil-AFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chick-fil-A franchise requires a total initial investment of $427K – $2.3M, including a $10K franchise fee and an ongoing 15.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $9.3M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $427K – $2.3M
- 76th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $9.3M
- 58th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 15.0%
- 85th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2,684
- 97th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Each dollar invested generates 6.7x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1987. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 2629 to 2338 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Large franchise systems benefit from brand recognition, supply chain leverage, and proven operations.
Bottom line
- Total investment $427K – $2.3M including a $10K franchise fee, 15.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $9.3M/year (median $9.2M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 19/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Chick-fil-A, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Andrew T. Cathy
- Incorporated in
- GA
- HQ
- 5200 Buffington Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30349-2998
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $7.9B
- vs $9.1B prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate Chick-fil-A quick-service restaurants, primarily handling day-to-day management of food preparation, customer service, staffing, scheduling, and local marketing. Most locations are in high-traffic areas like malls, universities, or airports where the brand maintains corporate control over site selection and design standards.
- CEO
- Andrew T. Cathy
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 1964
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 49
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 6 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.
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
$652K
7.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
25%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $427K – $2.3M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $391K – $2.1M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $10K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 15.0%
- Split Profits · 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 | 15.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $20K |
| Transfer fee | $0 |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $121K |
| 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.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $9.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $9.2M
- Item 19 type
- Annual Sales Volume
- Sample size
- 2380 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $1.9M→$19.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is 6.7x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Chick-fil-A Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2,684
- Opened
- 243
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Turnover rate
- 0.2%
- Company-owned
- 55
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +5.4%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +12.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
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
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
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Chick-fil-A's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 1 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 1 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 1-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
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)
Two cases involving Chick-fil-A: (1) Stephens/Strawn v. Chick-fil-A data breach class action settled for $210,000 on November 19, 2023 and dismissed with prejudice on December 7, 2023; (2) Mayheu v. Chick-fil-A class action dismissed on February 29, 2024
Largest disclosed settlement: $210,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 17, 2020 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Eastern District of Virginia (Case #20-30805-KRH). Pier 1 is not the franchisor or affiliate. Assets sold July 30, 2020; matter still pending as creditors are being paid per Bankruptcy Code priorities.
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 19 / 100 rating
- 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)
- 02MINORNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosure prevents validation of $9.3M average revenue claim and actual franchisee profitability
- 03MINOROne-year term with no territory protection creates renewal uncertainty and vulnerability to encroachment
- 04HIGHRecent litigation history (cybersecurity and delivery fee class actions) indicates compliance and transparency issues
- 05MINORModest 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
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 1 year |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 1 year |
| Territory type | Specific location |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| 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 | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 6 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two cases involving Chick-fil-A: (1) Stephens/Strawn v. Chick-fil-A data breach class action settled for $210,000 on November 19, 2023 and dismissed with prejudice on December 7, 2023; (2) Mayheu v. Chick-fil-A class action dismissed on February 29, 2024
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 102 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 98 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- 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 $427K – $2.3M, 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 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. 243 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 risk score of 19 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Chick-fil-A, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Quick-Service Restaurants category
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.