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2 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 |  AStrongest tierMcDonald’s Quick-Service Restaurants Remove |  AStrongest tierChick-fil-A Quick-Service Restaurants Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||
Investment range | $1.5M – $2.8M | $586K – $3.4M |
Liquid capital | $250K – $452K | $149K – $951K |
Franchise fee | $45K | $10K |
Royalty rate | 5.0% | 10.0% |
Ad fund rate | 4.0% | 0.0% |
| Performance | ||
Avg gross sales | $4.1M | $9.3M |
Median gross sales | $3.9M | $9.2M |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | N/A | N/A |
Earnings metric | Operating Income | Not classified |
| Risk | ||
Rating | AStrongest tier | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 76 / 100 | 86 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | 16.7% | N/A |
SBA loans on record | 24 | 2 |
| Scale | ||
Total units | 13,706 | 2,684 |
Net change (latest yr) | N/A | N/A |
Turnover rate | 0.8% | 4.5% |
| Contract | ||
Initial term (years) | 20 | 1 |
Renewal term (years) | N/A | 1 |
Initial training (hrs) | 548 | 102 |
| Contacts | ||
Franchisee phones | 12,345 | 2,139 |
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