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3 brands side-by-side
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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 |  CAverageHardee's Quick-Service Restaurants Remove |  BAbove averageLaRosa’s Quick-Service Restaurants Remove |  BAbove averageSonic Quick-Service Restaurants Remove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitals | |||
Investment range | $1.4M – $2.6M | $1.4M – $2.6M | $1.5M – $2.5M |
Liquid capital | $160K – $250K | $100K – $100K | $5K – $25K |
Franchise fee | $25K | $25K | $15K |
Royalty rate | 4.0% | 4.0% | 5.0% |
Ad fund rate | 5.5% | 4.0% | 3.3% |
| Performance | |||
Avg gross sales | $1.3M | No Item 19 representation | $1.6M |
Median gross sales | $1.3M | N/A | $1.5M |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Earnings metric | Not classified | Not classified | Not classified |
| Risk | |||
Rating | CAverage | BAbove average | BAbove average |
Verdict score | 40 / 100 | 60 / 100 | 69 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | 39.0% | N/A | 8.3% |
SBA loans on record | 55 | 5 | 144 |
| Scale | |||
Total units | 1,485 | 64 | 3,412 |
Net change (latest yr) | -82 | -2 | -24 |
Turnover rate | 2.4% | 5.5% | 1.6% |
| Contract | |||
Initial term (years) | 20 | 10 | 10 |
Renewal term (years) | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Initial training (hrs) | 195 | 128 | 226 |
| Contacts | |||
Franchisee phones | 83 | 0 | 3,194 |
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