FranchiseVerdict
The Joint Chiropractic logo
FV-02658·MODERATEExcellent86

The Joint Chiropractic

OtherFranchising since 2011Website
Investment
$166K – $551K
56th pct Other
Avg revenue
50th pct Other
Royalty
43.0% (?)
Likely extraction error
Units
27
54th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $166K – $551K including a $150K franchise fee, 43.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
The Joint Corp.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
16767 N. Perimeter Dr., Suite 110, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
Auditor
BDO USA, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$58.7M
vs $80.9M prior year

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 The Joint Chiropractic unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $166K–$551K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $5K–$15K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

-47%

Negative

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$-172K
EBITDA margin
-23.0%
Total invested
$369K
Payback
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate chiropractic clinics providing spinal adjustment, manipulation, and wellness services to local patients. Day-to-day operations include patient scheduling, clinical service delivery by licensed chiropractors and staff, insurance billing, and clinic management under The Joint's standardized protocols and branding.

CEO
Peter D. Holt
Founded
2010
FDD year
2025
States available
30

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$166K – $551K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$5K – $15K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$150K
Royalty
43.0%
percentage of fees collected from franchisees · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
$9,000
Total fee load
43.0%
vs 9–13% typical

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

Total units
27
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
4
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
85%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.0%
Net growth (yr3)
-4.2%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+4.5%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
23±0
Franchised units
2024
24
Franchised units
2025
22
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 27 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 27 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
2
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

Declining unit count, extreme royalty burden, missing financial disclosures, and prior franchisee litigation create substantial risk for capital recovery and profitability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 4.2% YoY (27 units total) indicates shrinking system and potential market saturation or unit underperformance
  2. 02MINORExceptionally high royalty rate of 42.957% severely limits franchisee profitability and cash flow compared to industry standard of 5-7%
  3. 03MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosure (missing Item 19) prevents prospective franchisees from validating investment ROI claims
  4. 04MINORPrior $800,000 arbitration settlement with franchisees regarding development schedules suggests franchisor-franchisee relationship strain and unmet expectations
  5. 05MINORHigh initial investment of $166,225–$551,350 combined with declining unit count and high royalties creates significant breakeven risk
  6. 06MINORSmall franchise system (27 units) limits brand recognition, purchasing power, and operational support infrastructure

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Exclusive Development Area defined by state or county boundaries.
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
2
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
1.5 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Arizona

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
26 hrs
On-the-job training
40 hrs
POS system
FranConnect
Operating tech stack

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

35 numbers

Locked
(480) 245-••••
The franchisor is The Joint Corp., located at
AZ
(217) 782-••••
IL
(636) 675-••••
MO

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

The Joint Chiropractic · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above