Yesco Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
YESCO is a B2B franchise that designs, manufactures, installs, and services signs and LED displays for businesses. Franchisees run a sign operation handling sales, fabrication, installation, and maintenance for commercial accounts in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A YESCO franchise requires a total initial investment of $65K – $432K, including a $25K – $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 15 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $65K – $432K
- 20th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 13th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 8th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 98
- 47th pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $65K – $432K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $785K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 81/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 15 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- TERMSNo 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
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- YESCO Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Young Electric Sign Company
- CEO title
- President
- Ryan Young
- CEO experience
- 30 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Utah
- HQ
- 2401 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109
- Auditor
- HBME, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.0M
- vs $4.0M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Ryan Young
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2010
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 28
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 11% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $0 | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $15K | $332K |
| Total initial investment | $65K | $432K |
Source: YESCO 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $65K – $432K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Percentage of gross sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 27% below the business services norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
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
$152K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
56%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
22 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one YESCO unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
56%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 YESCO units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.5M
on $7.6M purchase
Total debt
$6.1M
SBA $3.8M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $785K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 52 outlets
- vs category median 35
- Range (low → high)
- $42K→$5.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $175K→$2.6M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 296 Business Services brands
Revenue is 4.4x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.1M/year in gross sales. Median is $785K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% — below the Business Services average of 11.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (-1.8% 3-year CAGR) with 98 units.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Business Services averages
How Yesco Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 98
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.6%
- Company-owned
- 42
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 57%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -1.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -1.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 1.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 2.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 29 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 15
- Loan volume
- $6.4M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 7
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 6.7%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 20.4%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 209
- 4.9 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 30%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in sign manufacturing, franchised businesses charge off at 20.4% vs 17.9% for independents — franchising is associated with 14% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Yesco franchisees
Showing 3 of 7 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Yesco's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 6 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 6 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 9-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 15 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Established sign-service franchisor (98 units, began 1971) with solid financials: net worth $9.95M, net income $1.78M, avg gross sales $1.09M. One resolved franchisee contract/termination suit with counterclaims. Only real note is slight -1.8% net growth; otherwise healthy.
Litigation (Item 3)
Statement of claim issued October 8, 2015 against 2261116 Ontario Inc. (226), 2470322 Ontario Ltd. (247), Wilf Goldlust and Gerald Patt for breach of contract and seeking injunction. 226 was franchisee for Ontario. Counterclaims filed by Goldlust and 226 alleging breach of contract, breach of good faith, misrepresentation and violations of Arthur Wishart Act. Partial summary judgment granted to franchisor dismissing misrepresentation claims (July 2017). Claims against Goldlust and 226 settled September 2017. Remaining claims against Patt and 247 settled August 2018 with one-year non-compete agreement.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · HBME, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 81 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGH1 litigation matter (franchisee termination/nonpayment, counterclaims)
- 02MINORSlight negative net growth -1.8%
- 03MINORStrong financials: net worth $9.95M, net income $1.78M
- 04MEDAudited, Item 19 disclosed, no bankruptcy/going-concern
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Geographic area |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Utah |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Statement of claim issued October 8, 2015 against 2261116 Ontario Inc. (226), 2470322 Ontario Ltd. (247), Wilf Goldlust and Gerald Patt for breach of contract and seeking injunction. 226 was franchisee for Ontario. Counterclaims filed by Goldlust and 226 alleging breach of contract, breach of good faith, misrepresentation and violations of Arthur Wishart Act. Partial summary judgment granted to franchisor dismissing misrepresentation claims (July 2017). Claims against Goldlust and 226 settled September 2017. Remaining claims against Patt and 247 settled August 2018 with one-year non-compete agreement.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 144 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 48 hrs
- Training location
- Salt Lake City, Utah or Las Vegas, Nevada
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 6 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- Servizio
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Servizio
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
57 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
YESCO · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a YESCO franchise?
The total investment to open a YESCO franchise ranges from $65K – $432K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do YESCO franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the YESCO FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $785K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the YESCO FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the YESCO FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is YESCO's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, YESCO has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 15 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 YESCO franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, YESCO has 98 total units in the United States, including 56 franchised units and 42 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is YESCO a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates YESCO as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 81 out of 100 (higher is better), 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
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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.