Franchise Home Quiz: Find Your Franchise Business Opportunities Franchises for Sale

- Video
- Podcasts
- Articles
- Entrepreneur Live 2017
- Franchise
- Products
  - Network
  - Podcasts
  - Books
  - Connect
- Spotlight
- Topics
- Magazine
- Newsletter
  - Subscribe
- Editions
  - United States
  - India
  - Middle East
  - Español
  - Albanian
  - China
  - Philippines
  - South Africa
- Other
- Site Map

My Queue

Your Queue is empty

Click on the next to articles to add them to your Queue

Understanding the Ranking

On the following pages, you’ll find Entrepreneur’s 38th annual Franchise 500 ranking. We always put together what we know to be the first, best, and most comprehensive franchise ranking in the world, but we also understand that being the best doesn’t mean we can’t be better. The franchise world is constantly evolving, and so are our rankings.

Our formula is based on the same factors as before: system size, growth, and financial strength and stability. But we’ve developed new ways to measure and analyze them. And we’ve continued to add factors that have become increasingly important in today’s economy—like, say, social media presence, which certainly wasn’t relevant 38 years ago. Here’s a breakdown:

The Five Pillars of the Franchise 500®
Some key factors that go into our evaluation.

COSTS & FEES

Franchise fee
Total investment
Royalty fees

SIZE & GROWTH

Open & operating units
Growth rate
Closures

SUPPORT

Training times
Marketing support
Operational support
Franchisor infrastructure
Financing availability
Litigation

BRAND STRENGTH

Social media presence
System size
Years in business
Years franchising

FINANCIAL STRENGTH & STABILITY

Franchisor’s audited financial statements

Pillars and factors are not listed in order of importance.

So how was the ranking put together? Beginning in July 2016, we asked franchisors to fill out our online form and submit a copy of their full current Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) or Canadian Disclosure Document. A whopping 988 companies supplied all the required information, and their submissions were vetted by our editorial team before being entered for data analysis.

To be eligible for our ranking, a franchisor must have had a minimum of 10 units open and operating as of July 31, 2016, with at least one franchise located in either the U.S. or Canada. The company must also be seeking new franchisees in the U.S. or Canada. It could not be in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Once eligible, each company was then scored based on more than 150 data points, and the 500 companies with the highest cumulative scores became the Franchise 500.

Please remember that the Franchise 500 is not intended to endorse, advertise, or recommend any particular franchise. It is solely a research tool you can use to compare franchise operations. Entrepreneur Media stresses that you should always conduct your own independent investigation before investing money in a franchise. Read the FDD and related materials carefully, get help from a franchise attorney and an accountant to review legal and financial documents, and talk to as many existing and former franchisees as possible and visit their outlets. The best way to protect yourself is to do your homework.

Food Franchises

Food Franchises

RANK

FRANCHISE

INITIAL INVESTMENT

Happy & Healthy Products Inc. Request More Info

Checkers and Rally's Restaurants Inc. Request More Info

Kona Ice Request More Info

Rosati's Pizza Request More Info

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches Request More Info

LemonShark Poke Request More Info

Drnk coffee + tea and Qwench juice bar Request More Info

Wingstop Restaurants Inc.

Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp.

Culver Franchising System Inc.

Jersey Mike's Subs

McAlister's Deli

Carl's Jr. Restaurants

Sonic Drive-In Restaurants

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Edible Arrangements

Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza

Moe's Southwest Grill

Papa John's Int'l. Inc.

GNC Franchising

Beef Jerky Outlet Franchise Inc.

Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels

Dickey's Barbecue Pit

Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits

Farmer Boys Restaurants

Charleys Philly Steaks

Penn Station East Coast Subs

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Boston's Restaurant & Sports Bar

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches

The Human Bean Drive Thru

Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom

Kilwins Chocolates Franchise Inc.

For reprints and licensing questions, click here. Update Your Listing | Submit New Listing