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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 averageLee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Quick-Service Restaurants 2025 FDD Remove |  AStrongest tierPanda Express Quick-Service Restaurants 2025 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||
FDD filing | FDD issued Apr 30, 2025 | FDD issued Apr 18, 2025 |
Investment range | $1.3M – $2.4M | $515K – $3.3M |
Liquid capital | $15K – $50K | $18K – $30K |
Franchise fee | $35K | $25K |
Royalty rate | 5.0% | 8.0% |
Ad fund rate | 3.0% | Not extracted |
| Performance | ||
Avg gross sales | $1.8M | $1.6M |
Median gross sales | $1.7M | $1.2M |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not extracted | Not extracted |
Earnings metric | P&L Bottom Line | Not classified |
| Risk | ||
Rating | BAbove average | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 68 / 100 | 78 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | Not SBA-matched | Under 10 loans (1) |
SBA loans on record | N/A | 1 |
| Scale | ||
Total units | 126 | 2,502 |
Net change (latest yr) | -13 | +8 |
Signed, not yet open | 2 (0.02 per open outlet) | 15 (0.01 per open outlet) |
Turnover rate | 13.5% | 0.1% |
| Contract | ||
Initial term (years) | 15 | 10 |
Renewal term (years) | 15 | 5 |
Initial training (hrs) | 484 | 438 |
| Contacts | ||
Franchisee phones | 58 | 77 |
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