Subway
Formerly known as Associates
Bottom line
- Total investment $239K – $537K including a $15K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 6234 loans (below the industry average).
- 84 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 Subway unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
17%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Subway franchisees operate quick-service sandwich shops, managing daily food preparation, customer service, inventory, staffing, and marketing within a high-traffic location (mall, street-level, or co-branded). Operators work extended hours (typically 10–14 hour days) fulfilling orders, managing food costs, and driving local sales against direct competition from other Subway units and national chains.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 51 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.
51
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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
Subway presents HIGH RISK due to undisclosed financials (no Item 19), going concern status, lack of territorial protection, and opaque royalty structure, making ROI validation impossible for prospective franchisees.
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — franchisor may face solvency/operational viability issues
- 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — impossible to validate ROI claims or typical unit economics
- 03MINORRoyalty fee percentage not specified — hidden cost structure creates pricing uncertainty and potential for surprise escalations
- 04MINORNo territory protection — franchisees face direct competition from other Subway locations and channel conflict
- 05MEDUnit growth data unknown — suggests stagnation or decline in system size, typical of mature/struggling QSR franchises
- 06MINORInvestment range ($238k–$536k) is substantial with no corresponding revenue/profit benchmarks to justify capital requirement
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
Subway · FDD (2025) PDF