Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
Bottom line
- Total investment $505K – $3.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.0M/year (median $1.9M). Estimated payback in 6.7 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 39/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 113 loans (below the industry average).
- 10 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 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
12%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
36.2%
4.68× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.27×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$4.7M
on $13.8M purchase
Total debt
$9.1M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service restaurant locations serving Popeyes' signature fried chicken, sandwiches, and sides with drive-through and dine-in service. Day-to-day responsibilities include staffing management, inventory control, food preparation oversight, customer service delivery, local marketing compliance, and adherence to RBI operational standards across a typical 1,500-2,500 sq ft footprint.
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 · 12 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
Popeyes presents meaningful caution-level risk due to negligible unit growth, active multi-jurisdictional litigation, undisclosed financial reporting, and questionable return on investment timeline despite an established brand.
Score breakdown · what drove the 39 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth (1.4% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee underperformance, raising concerns about expansion viability
- 02HIGHMultiple active litigation cases including class actions and antitrust allegations (no-poach violations) indicate systemic governance and compliance issues
- 03HIGHParent company RBI litigation involvement suggests corporate-level problems that could cascade to franchisees through policy changes or brand damage
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE with no Item 19 financial data disclosed, preventing verification of claimed $328,316 average net income
- 05MINORHigh investment ceiling ($3.9M) relative to modest net income ($328K) yields 11-12 year payback period at best, concerning for ROI confidence
- 06HIGHBreach of development agreement litigation suggests franchisor enforcement inconsistency and potential territorial/growth restriction conflicts
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
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen · FDD (2025) PDF