Pizza Hut Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $846K – $2.1M
- Disclosed sales
- $973K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 27 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Pizza Hut is a quick-service pizza franchise; this filing covers traditional System Restaurants (dine-in RBD, Delco delivery/carryout, and DBR/FCD formats) offering pizza, pasta and WingStreet products for dine-in, carryout and delivery. Franchisees operate full restaurants under a Location Franchise Agreement, not the non-traditional Express counters.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Pizza Hut franchise requires a total initial investment of $846K – $2.1M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $973K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $846K – $2.1M
- 90th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $973K
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 5,031
- 96th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $846K – $2.1M including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $973K/year (median $929K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 60/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -258 franchised outlets in the latest year (55 opened, 313 closed) (Item 20).
- SCALEEstablished system with 5,031 units across 67 years of franchising. Strong brand recognition and operational playbook.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Pizza Hut, LLC
- Parent company
- Pizza Hut Guarantor, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- YUM! Brands, Inc.
- Predecessor
- Pizza Hut, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Aaron Powell
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 7100 Corporate Drive, Plano, Texas 75024
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $261.2M
- vs $288.8M prior year
Affiliated brands
- operates or franchises
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Same owner · FDD Item 1
4 other brands on this site name YUM! Brands, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2026 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Aaron Powell
- Headquarters
- Texas
- Founded
- 1958
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 49
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 206% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $25K | $25K | |
| Equipment | $150K | $300K | |
| Opening Inventory | $4K | $8K | |
| Smallwares | $15K | $50K | |
| Building and Site Improvements | $619K | $1.7M | |
| Land | — | — | |
| Computer System | $15K | $30K | |
| Computer System Training | $0 | $2K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $5K | $22K | |
| Miscellaneous | $10K | $22K | |
| Advertising | $0 | $17K | |
| Start-up "Other" | $3K | $4K | |
| Total initial investment | $846K | $2.1M |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $846K – $2.1M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $22K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.8%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.8% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Inventory (initial) | $4K – $8K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Pizza Hut until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$1.5M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Pizza Hut unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $973K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $929K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Sample size
- 4,767 outlets
- vs category median 19 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $233K→$3.1MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 56 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.7x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $973K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 0/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Pizza Hut Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5,031
- Opened
- 55
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 313
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.2%
- Company-owned
- 75
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Reacquired
- 54
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 33
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 49 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
49
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- KS 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 27
- Loan volume
- $25.9M
- Median loan
- $472K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 27 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 27 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 27 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 27 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 24
- Defaults
- 3
- Typical loan rate
- 6.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.8%
- n=12,827 loans
- Jobs supported
- 1,588
- 6.1 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 7%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 50% went to startups / new businesses, 50% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 10.8% vs 10.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 8% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Pizza Hut charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Pizza Hut franchisees
Showing 3 of 24 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Pizza Hut from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 7.3%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 72%
- Avg interest rate
- 5.95%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $626K
- Lender concentration
- 7.4%
- Job velocity
- 6.1 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 8.7%
- NAICS 722513
- Jobs supported
- 1,588
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 7% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Financial Bank | 2 | $850K | 0.0% |
| 2 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 2 | $582K | 0.0% |
| 3 | The Huntington National Bank | 2 | $3.0M | 0.0% |
| 4 | Zions Bank, A Division of | 1 | $100K | 0.0% |
| 5 | Simmons Bank | 1 | $662K | 100.0% |
| 6 | PNC Bank, National Association | 1 | $623K | 0.0% |
| 7 | Comerica Bank | 1 | $451K | 0.0% |
| 8 | First National Bank | 1 | $750K | 0.0% |
| 9 | United Bank | 1 | $100K | 0.0% |
| 10 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 1 | $265K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYNew York | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| TXTexas | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| CACalifornia | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| GAGeorgia | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| NVNevada | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| PAPennsylvania | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| ALAlabama | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| IAIowa | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| INIndiana | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MOMissouri | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Item 3 discloses one matter: Individual Claimants v. Pizza Hut, LLC (AAA Case 01-25-0009-3768, California), a mass arbitration demand filed December 3, 2025 by 80 individual claimants alleging California and federal wiretapping violations, statutory larceny, invasion of privacy and intrusion upon seclusion over the Meta Pixel on PHLLC's website. The matter is in its early stages and PHLLC intends to vigorously defend it; no franchisee-initiated litigation, judgments or settlements are disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 / Exhibit I attaches the audited consolidated financial statements of Pizza Hut Guarantor, LLC and Subsidiary (PHLLC's direct parent, which guarantees PHLLC's performance under a Guaranty of Performance dated March 25, 2026) - balance sheets as of December 29, 2025 and December 30, 2024 and statements of income, member's equity and cash flows for the three fiscal years ended December 29, 2025 - audited by KPMG LLP (unqualified opinion dated March 25, 2026). They are a parent-level consolidated set, not standalone Pizza Hut, LLC statements.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Litigation case detail1 matters · Item 3
Litigation cases
The franchisor
Pending (1)
Individual Claimants v. Pizza Hut, LLC
pendingThird-party plaintiff · filed 2025-12-03 · American Arbitration Association (AAA), California · 01-25-0009-3768
“Individual Claimants v. Pizza Hut, LLC, filed as Case 01-25-0009-3768, with the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in California. On December 3, 2025, 80 individual claimants 1 filed individual demands for arbitration as a mass demand against PHLLC alleging violations of California and federal wiretapping laws, as well as statutory larceny, invasion of privacy and intrusion upon seclusion”Page 18 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome:“The matter is in its early stages, with the parties needing to complete certain AAA administrative procedures before a scheduling order is entered. PHLLC intends to vigorously defend against the allegations.”
Item 3 lists the litigation the franchisor must disclose; a matter against a parent, an affiliate or a named officer is not a matter against the franchisor, and pending claims are allegations, not findings.
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 0.3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1.5 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Item 3 discloses one matter: Individual Claimants v. Pizza Hut, LLC (AAA Case 01-25-0009-3768, California), a mass arbitration demand filed December 3, 2025 by 80 individual claimants alleging California and federal wiretapping violations, statutory larceny, invasion of privacy and intrusion upon seclusion over the Meta Pixel on PHLLC's website. The matter is in its early stages and PHLLC intends to vigorously defend it; no franchisee-initiated litigation, judgments or settlements are disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Training location
- Plano, Texas headquarters (Pizza Prep 1 and 2 classroom; Franchisee Onboarding in person in Plano or virtually) and a qualified Pizza Hut restaurant location of the franchisor's choice (Restaurant Training)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee, subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Pizza Hut designated point-of-sale system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Pizza Hut designated point-of-sale system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Pizza Hut franchise?
The total investment to open a Pizza Hut franchise ranges from $846K – $2.1M, 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 Pizza Hut franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Pizza Hut FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $973K. The median is $929K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Pizza Hut?
Pizza Hut is franchised by Pizza Hut, LLC. Its parent company is Pizza Hut Guarantor, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is YUM! Brands, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Pizza Hut FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Pizza Hut FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Pizza Hut's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Pizza Hut (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 Pizza Hut franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Pizza Hut has 5,031 total units in the United States, including 4,956 franchised units and 75 company-owned units. 55 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Pizza Hut a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Pizza Hut as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 60 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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?
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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.