Panda ExpressFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Panda Express franchise requires a total initial investment of $515K – $3.3M, including a $25K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.6M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $515K – $3.3M
- 83rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 2,502
- 96th 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
Franchised units fell from 173 to 157 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
13 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 $515K – $3.3M including a $25K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year (median $1.2M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 30/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Citadel Panda Express, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Panda Restaurant Group, Inc.
- CEO title
- Co-Chairmen of the Board of Directors and Co-Chief Executive Officers
- Andrew Jin-Chan Cherng
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 1683 Walnut Grove Avenue, Rosemead, California 91770
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $20.0M
- vs $25.7M prior year
Affiliated brands
- owns and operates
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service Chinese-American restaurants, managing food preparation, customer service, delivery coordination, and point-of-sale operations. Daily operations include inventory management, staff scheduling/training, maintaining food safety standards, and driving sales through local marketing while adhering to brand standards and handling significant online/delivery order volume.
- CEO
- Andrew Jin-Chan Cherng
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1990
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 39
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial License Feenot refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Lease of Premises (Initial 3 months' rent) | $10K | $425K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $100K | $1.5M | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment and Supplies | $120K | $650K | |
| Initial Inventory | $11K | $18K | |
| Computer Hardware and Software | $17K | $27K | |
| Non-resettable cash register(s) | $6K | $8K | |
| Insurance | $95K | $158K | |
| Expenses Incurred During Initial Training | $13K | $29K | |
| Architectural and Design Fees | $35K | $120K | |
| Construction Supervision | $20K | $150K | |
| Sales Tax Deposits | $5K | $10K | |
| Telephone, Fax and other Communication Related Fees | $500 | $1K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $2K | $60K | |
| Payroll and Related Taxes | $39K | $65K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $18K | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $515K | $3.3M |
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
$206K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
11%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
9.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $515K – $3.3M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $18K – $30K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $13K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of 8% of Gross Volume or $4,000 per 4-week period
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | greater of 8% or $4,000 minimum |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $11K – $18K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Item 19 type
- Averages and Medians
- Sample size
- 156 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $247K→$9.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Panda Express Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2,502
- Opened
- 11
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Turnover rate
- 0.1%
- Company-owned
- 2,329
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 7%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 11.1%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +4.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +10.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 42
- Closed (3yr)
- 4
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Transfer rate
- 0.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 0.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 22 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $511K
- Median loan
- $511K
- 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
- 1
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Panda Express presents meaningful caution-level risk due to lack of profitability disclosure, substantial litigation exposure around labor practices, high fixed royalty minimums, unprotected territory, and slow unit growth suggesting market saturation.
Litigation (Item 3)
Three pending matters: (1) Goosby PAGA action alleging Labor Code violations regarding minor work hour restrictions (motion for judgment on pleadings filed); (2) Goosby individual action for whistleblower retaliation, wrongful termination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress (demurrer to be filed); (3) Halliday class action (one of nine consolidated data breach lawsuits) alleging negligence, privacy violations, and unfair competition. Conditional global settlement agreed October 1, 2024, with court deadline of April 28, 2025 for preliminary approval motion.
Largest disclosed settlement: $4
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
bankrupt or reorganized due to insolvency nor has any of them ever been a principal officer of any company or a general partner in any partnership that was adjudged bankrupt or reorganized due to insolvency during or within 1 year after the period that such officer or general partner of the franchis
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen 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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 30 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed - cannot verify if $1.58M average revenue translates to actual franchisee profitability
- 02HIGHSignificant litigation exposure: multiple labor code violations (wages, hours, rest breaks) suggest potential franchisor operational compliance issues that may cascade to franchisees
- 03MINORHigh royalty burden: 8% of gross volume PLUS $4,000 minimum per 4-week period ($104,000 annually at minimum) creates cash flow pressure on lower-performing units
- 04MINORUnprotected territory with slow unit growth (4.8% YoY) indicates market saturation risk and potential cannibalization by corporate or competing franchisees
- 05MINORData security incidents create reputational and operational risk, particularly relevant for QSR handling customer payment/delivery information
- 06MEDHigh investment ceiling ($3.28M) with undisclosed net income creates uncertainty about ROI timeline and break-even scenarios
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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 13 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Three pending matters: (1) Goosby PAGA action alleging Labor Code violations regarding minor work hour restrictions (motion for judgment on pleadings filed); (2) Goosby individual action for whistleblower retaliation, wrongful termination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress (demurrer to be filed); (3) Halliday class action (one of nine consolidated data breach lawsuits) alleging negligence, privacy violations, and unfair competition. Conditional global settlement agreed October 1, 2024, with court deadline of April 28, 2025 for preliminary approval motion.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 14 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 320 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Xenial POS software on NCR RealPOS CX7 or Posiflex XT8315 hardware
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Xenial POS software on NCR RealPOS CX7 or Posiflex XT8315 hardware
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
77 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Panda Express · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Panda Express franchise?
The total investment to open a Panda Express franchise ranges from $515K – $3.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Panda Express franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Panda Express FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.6M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Panda Express's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Panda Express (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 Panda Express franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Panda Express has 2,502 total units in the United States, including 173 franchised units and 2,329 company-owned units. 11 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Panda Express a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Panda Express as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 30 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.
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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.