Wendy's
Formerly known as Quality Inn
Bottom line
- Total investment $410K – $3.1M including a $50K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $2.1M/year (median $2.0M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 40/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 1353 loans (below the industry average).
- No protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
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 Wendy's unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
14%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Wendy's units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
38.7%
5.14× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.16×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.9M
on $12.7M purchase
Total debt
$8.8M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service restaurant locations serving hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, and beverages. Daily operations include inventory management, food preparation, staff scheduling, customer service, marketing within territory, and compliance with Wendy's operational standards and food safety protocols.
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 · 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 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
Wendy's presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to non-disclosure of unit economics, unprotected territories, and lack of growth visibility, though the established brand and stable unit count provide some foundation.
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — impossible to assess profitability or ROI
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates risk of cannibalization and direct competition from other franchisees
- 03MINORWide investment range ($409K-$3.1M) suggests highly variable unit economics with unclear cost drivers
- 04MINORRoyalty structure up to 6% is on higher end of QSR industry, reducing franchisee margins
- 05MINOR7,397 units with unknown growth trajectory — cannot determine if system is expanding or contracting
- 06MINORNo financial performance data provided limits ability to validate franchise sustainability
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
39 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Wendy's · FDD (2026) PDF