Jack in the Box
Formerly known as Different Rules
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.9M – $4.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.9M/year (median $1.8M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 40/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 53 loans (below the industry average).
- 12 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
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 Jack in the Box unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
8%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Jack in the Box units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
42.4%
5.85× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.04×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.0M
on $11.5M purchase
Total debt
$8.4M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual quick-service restaurants serving Jack in the Box's menu of burgers, chicken sandwiches, tacos, and breakfast items. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen and counter staff, ordering inventory, maintaining food safety standards, customer service, and local marketing—all while paying 5% of gross sales in royalties regardless of profitability.
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 · 15 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
Jack in the Box presents elevated risk due to shrinking unit count, non-disclosure of net income figures, multiple active litigations reflecting franchisor-franchisee friction, and going concern warning at corporate level.
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-2.7% YoY) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNo disclosed average net income despite $1.91M-$4.04M investment creates opacity around actual profitability and ROI
- 03HIGHMultiple active litigation cases across multiple states (Philippines, Texas, Washington) plus historical pattern of franchisee disputes suggests systemic franchisor-franchisee relationship issues
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status = False (company reported going concern doubts), indicating financial instability at corporate level
- 05HIGHHeavy litigation history including class actions (gift cards), franchisee association suits, and multi-state disputes suggests pattern of enforcement/transparency problems
- 06MED5% royalty on disclosed $1.91M average revenue = ~$95,668 annual royalty plus operating costs makes profitability questionable without disclosed net income
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
86 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Jack in the Box · FDD (2026) PDF