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indicates the clear winner per row. Ties and missing data are not highlighted.
How winners are chosen
Lower is better for investment, liquid capital, franchise fee, royalty and ad-fund rates, SBA charge-off rate, and owner turnover.
Higher is better for disclosed revenue and owner earnings, verdict score, total units, net unit growth, and franchisee contacts. For the letter grade, A ranks highest.
A row is highlighted only when one brand clearly leads. Ties are never highlighted, and missing data never counts as a win. Some rows (earnings-metric type, loan counts, contract terms) are informational and have no winner.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  BAbove averageDairy Queen Quick-Service Restaurants Remove |  AStrongest tierEl Pollo Loco Quick-Service Restaurants Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||
Investment range | $623K – $2.8M | $794K – $2.7M |
Liquid capital | $40K – $200K | $25K – $100K |
Franchise fee | $25K | $40K |
Royalty rate | 4.0% | 5.0% |
Ad fund rate | 3.0% | 5.0% |
| Performance | ||
Avg gross sales | $1.6MOutlet subset | $2.2M |
Median gross sales | $1.5MOutlet subset | $2.1M |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | N/A | N/A |
Earnings metric | Not classified | Not classified |
| Risk | ||
Rating | BAbove average | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 53 / 100 | 80 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | 10.6% | 6.5% |
SBA loans on record | 1,242 | 61 |
| Scale | ||
Total units | 74 | 503 |
Net change (latest yr) | N/A | N/A |
Turnover rate | 1.4% | 0.0% |
| Contract | ||
Initial term (years) | 20 | 20 |
Renewal term (years) | 10 | 10 |
Initial training (hrs) | 277 | N/A |
| Contacts | ||
Franchisee phones | 276 | 100 |
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