Jimmy John'sFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
The Jimmy John's franchise requires a total investment of $366K – $728K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty. Per the 2025 FDD, Jimmy John's reported $986K in average unit revenue. Among SBA 7(a) borrowers, Jimmy John's has a 5.9% charge-off rate across 927 loans. FranchiseVerdict rates Jimmy John's A based on financial performance, growth, and lending risk.
- Investment
- $366K – $728K
- 71st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $986K
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 43rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2,689
- 98th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 5.9%
- 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
Franchising since 1993. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
11 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
Large franchise systems benefit from brand recognition, supply chain leverage, and proven operations.
Bottom line
- Total investment $366K – $728K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $986K/year (median $935K).
- Verdict A (Excellent) with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 5.9% across 927 loans (above the <3% industry average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 11 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
- Legal entity
- Jimmy John’s Franchisor SPV, LLC
- Parent company
- Inspire Brands, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- Three Glenlake Parkway NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30328
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $152.9M
- vs $153.7M prior year
Single-unit · what this franchise earns
Returns Analysis
Blue values are pulled directly from FDD filings (Item 7 investment, Item 19 revenue). Gray values are category-benchmarked estimates. Override any field to stress-test your own scenario. Uses standard unlevered return-on-invested-capital methodology. For multi-unit portfolio returns and debt-financed scenarios, see the full financial models.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Jimmy John's unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
19%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Jimmy John's units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$887K
on $4.4M purchase
Total debt
$3.5M
SBA $2.2M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual sandwich shops focusing on 'freaky fast' delivery and in-store ordering. Day-to-day operations include managing labor scheduling, food prep, delivery logistics, inventory control, and driving local marketing—all within a vertically-integrated system with strict operational guidelines and limited autonomy.
- CEO
- Paul J. Brown
- Founded
- 1983
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 45
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $366K – $728K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
- Transfer fee
- $13K
- Paid if you sell your franchise
- Renewal fee
- $10K
- Paid at end of initial term to renew
- Total fee load
- 10.5% of rev
- Below avg, review vs category
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $986K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $935K
- Item 19 type
- Average Unit Volume (AUV)
- Sample size
- 2529 units
- vs category median 27 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $198K→$3.3M
- Cohort dispersion
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 463 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Jimmy John's Compares
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2,689
- Opened
- 88
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 29
- Turnover rate
- 1.1%
- Company-owned
- 42
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 5.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +1.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +1.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 927
- Loan volume
- $408.4M
- Median loan
- $360K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 5.9%
- 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)
- 94.1%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 196
- Defaults
- 45
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Vintage analysis
Jimmy John's charge-off rate by loan vintage
Shaded area: recent vintages with few resolved loans; rates may change as loans mature.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Jimmy John's's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 33-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Jimmy John's presents moderate-to-caution risk: stagnant growth, undisclosed profitability, zero territorial protection, and persistent labor/privacy litigation create headwinds for franchisee ROI despite reasonable unit count and brand recognition.
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth (1.7% YoY) suggests mature/declining system momentum despite 2,689 locations
- 02MINORNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosure prevents ROI validation — revenue of $986k alone doesn't indicate profitability
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; franchisor can approve nearby locations without restriction
- 04HIGHMulti-faceted litigation including joint-employer allegations poses wage/benefits liability exposure for franchisees
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($366k–$728k) paired with 6% royalty + unverified profitability creates cash flow risk
- 06MINORData breach and biometric privacy claims signal operational/compliance vulnerabilities that could cascade to franchisees
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
- Territory type
- Nonexclusive
- Protected territory
- No
- Initial term
- 10 years
- Renewal term
- 10 years
- Online sales rights
- Granted
- Franchisor can compete
- Yes
- Hire a manager?
- Not allowed
- Litigation count
- 11
- Right of first refusal
- Yes
- Franchisor can buy back on resale
- Mandatory arbitration
- No
- Jury trial waiver
- Yes
- Non-compete
- 2 yrs
- Post-termination restriction
- Owner-operator
- Required
- Governing law
- Georgia
Item 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 6 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 117 hrs
- POS system
- Signature Systems, Inc.
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Signature Systems, Inc.
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2,782 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Jimmy John's · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Jimmy John's franchise?
The total investment to open a Jimmy John's franchise ranges from $366K – $728K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Jimmy John's franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Jimmy John's FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $986K. The median is $935K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Jimmy John's's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Jimmy John's has a charge-off rate of 5.9% across 927 loans — meaning 5.9% 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 Jimmy John's franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Jimmy John's has 2,689 total units in the United States, including 2,597 franchised units and 42 company-owned units. 88 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Jimmy John's a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Jimmy John's as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 46 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
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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.