WingstopFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Wingstop franchise requires a total initial investment of $259K – $912K, including a $20K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.8M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.8% charge-off rate across 158 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $259K – $912K
- 49th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- 51st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 1,926
- 96th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.8%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 3.1x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Only 0.8% of 158 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Large franchise systems benefit from brand recognition, supply chain leverage, and proven operations.
Bottom line
- Total investment $259K – $912K including a $20K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.8M/year (median $1.7M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 9/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.8% across 158 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 25.3% CAGR over 3 years with 1926 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Wingstop Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Wingstop Inc.
- Predecessor
- and the original
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 15505 Wright Brothers Drive, Addison, Texas 75001
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $214.5M
- vs $164.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- companies are disclosable in this Item
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service chicken wing restaurants focused on delivery, carryout, and dine-in service. Day-to-day operations involve food preparation, order fulfillment, inventory management, and staff supervision while adhering to Wingstop's operational standards and development milestones.
- CEO
- Michael Skipworth
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 45
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development Feenot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Franchise Feenot refundable | $20K | $20K | |
| Rent | — | — | |
| Security Deposits | $0 | $10K | |
| Architectural/Engineering Feesnot refundable | $7K | $30K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $3K | $8K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $100K | $510K | |
| Operating Permitsnot refundable | $5K | $9K | |
| Decor Packagenot refundable | $10K | $35K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Audio/Visual System, Equipment and Small-waresnot refundable | $50K | $154K | |
| Point-of-Sale, Back Office, Software and Hardware and Related Itemsnot refundable | $11K | $24K | |
| Signsnot refundable | $4K | $32K | |
| Opening Inventorynot refundable | $10K | $16K | |
| Opening Publicity and Promotionsnot refundable | $5K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 monthsnot refundable | $25K | $40K | |
| Total initial investment | $259K | $912K |
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.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$194K
10.7% margin
Unlevered ROIC
31%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $259K – $912K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $40K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $5K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.3%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 11.3%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.3% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $16K |
| Total fee load | 11.3% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.7M
- Item 19 type
- net_sales
- Sample size
- 1637 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $443K→$5.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Wingstop Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1,926
- Opened
- 203
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 0.1%
- Company-owned
- 49
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +11.9%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +25.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 199
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 132
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 3
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 2.9%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Michigan
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 158
- Loan volume
- $72.8M
- Median loan
- $372K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.8%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 99.2%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 54
- Defaults
- 1
Vintage analysis
Wingstop charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Wingstop's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 15-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.8% charge-off rate across 158 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Wingstop presents moderate risk with strong unit growth and brand momentum offset by missing profitability disclosure, aggressive franchisor enforcement practices, and lack of transparency on net income sustainability.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 9 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to validate profitability claims against $1.8M average revenue
- 02MINORHigh unit growth (11.9% YoY) may indicate aggressive expansion masking unit-level performance issues
- 03HIGHLitigation history demonstrates Wingstop's willingness to enforce strict development obligations and strip territorial rights
- 04MINORWide investment range ($259K–$912K) suggests significant variability in unit economics and setup costs
- 05MINOR6% royalty on gross sales (not net) creates cash flow pressure during slow periods
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 23 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 134 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- NCR VOYIX Aloha POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR VOYIX Aloha POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Wingstop · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Wingstop franchise?
The total investment to open a Wingstop franchise ranges from $259K – $912K, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Wingstop franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Wingstop FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.8M. The median is $1.7M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Wingstop's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Wingstop has a charge-off rate of 0.8% across 158 loans, meaning 0.8% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Wingstop franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Wingstop has 1,926 total units in the United States, including 1,498 franchised units and 49 company-owned units. 203 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Wingstop a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Wingstop as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 9 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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?
If you represent Wingstop, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Quick-Service Restaurants category
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.