Bottom line
- Total investment $29K – $1.2M including a $36K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $665K/year (median $601K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 91 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 37.6% CAGR over 3 years with 1338 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Cinnabon unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
10%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Cinnabon units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$333K
on $1.7M purchase
Total debt
$1.3M
SBA $0.8M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Cinnabon franchisees operate small-format bakery counters or standalone kiosks selling premium cinnamon rolls, baked goods, and beverages. Daily operations include dough preparation, baking, inventory management, and customer service in high-traffic locations (malls, airports, co-branded Arby's units). Most franchisees manage 2–8 employees and generate revenue through direct sales and, increasingly, delivery partnerships.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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
Cinnabon presents moderate-to-cautionary risk due to missing profitability disclosure, unprotected territories, litigation history, and unclear unit economics that prevent prospective franchisees from validating investment returns.
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — impossible to validate ROI claims or assess true profitability
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; 30.7% YoY unit growth suggests market saturation concerns
- 03HIGHLitigation history involving no-poaching provisions and disclosure omissions indicates compliance issues and potential franchisee misrepresentation
- 04MINORWide investment range ($29K–$1.2M) suggests inconsistent unit economics and unclear cost structure
- 05MED6% royalty on undisclosed net income means franchisees cannot calculate break-even or true cost burden
- 06HIGHAffiliated brand litigation (Arby's, Dunkin', Jimmy John's) under same parent company signals systemic corporate governance problems
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
94 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Cinnabon · FDD (2026) PDF