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4 brands side-by-side
Compare up to 5 brands side by side
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.
These brands report different earnings metrics (P&L Bottom Line, EBITDA / Average 380,317). Financial figures may not be directly comparable.
These figures come from FDDs of different years (2025, 2026). Costs, fees and unit counts change from one filing to the next, so the older column may be out of date.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  BAbove averageDucklings Early Learning Center Education 2025 FDD Remove |  DBelow averageMaple Bear Education 2025 FDD Remove |  BAbove averageAbbey Road Institute Education 2026 FDD Remove |  AStrongest tierLightbridge Academy Education 2025 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||||
FDD filing | FDD issued Apr 30, 2025 | FDD issued May 2, 2025 | FDD issued Apr 9, 2026 | FDD issued Apr 10, 2025 |
Investment range | $993K – $2.2M | $799K – $2.4M | $517K – $2.5M | $1.0M – $2.7M |
Liquid capital | $250K – $360K | $150K – $200K | $60K – $130K | $150K – $300K |
Franchise fee | $55K | $85K | $250K | $50K |
Royalty rate | 3.0% | 6.0% | 8.0% | 7.0% |
Ad fund rate | 1.0% | 2.0% | Not extracted | 2.0% |
| Performance | ||||
Avg gross sales | $1.8MIncl. company outlets | No Item 19 representation | Partial, no system average | $2.5MCombined outlet types |
Median gross sales | $1.7MIncl. company outlets | Not disclosed | Not extracted | $2.6MCombined outlet types |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not extracted | Not disclosed | Not extracted | $380K |
Earnings metric | P&L Bottom Line | Not classified | Not classified | EBITDA / Average 380,317 |
| Risk | ||||
Rating | BAbove average | DBelow average | BAbove average | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 60 / 100 | 36 / 100 | 48 / 100 | 94 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | Limited · 10 loans | Under 10 loans (3) | Not SBA-matched | 0.0% (n=41) |
SBA loans on record | 10 | 3 | N/A | 41 |
| Scale | ||||
Total units | 14 | 1 | 7 | 81 |
Net change (latest yr) | +3 | -1 | 0 | +7 |
Signed, not yet open | 6 (0.43 per open outlet) | 4 (4.00 per open outlet) | Not extracted | 117 (1.44 per open outlet) |
Turnover rate | 0.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Contract | ||||
Initial term (years) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 |
Renewal term (years) | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
Initial training (hrs) | 109 | 80 | 30 | 177 |
| Contacts | ||||
Franchisee phones | 31 | 7 | 2 | 56 |
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