Cold Stone Creamery franchise research

Investment by format

Format-specific estimates only. Do not combine one format's minimum with another format's maximum.

Investment sourceFDD p.42 ↗

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$10,000 to $27,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review.

Royalty

6% · 6% of weekly Gross Sales, withdrawn electronically weekly, plus a surcharge up to $10/week in states (e.g. NY) with extra reporting requirements

Marketing contribution

3% (basis not captured; see original filing)

Technology fee

Data Fees up to $75/month (POS data polling) plus POS Help Desk Phone Support Maintenance Contract Fee up to $60/month

Other fees

Annual Meeting Registration Fee up to $1,000/year (charged even if not attending); Gift Card Redemption Fee 11% of redemption amount; Depository Account minimum $3,000 balance maintained at all times

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

$20,000 (both traditional and non-traditional) for the first three months of operation, covering payroll costs (excluding owner wage/salary), other miscellaneous expenses and working capital

Fees sourceFDD p.34 ↗

Working capital is drawn from Item 7. The Investment source below locates the investment section, not an independently verified working-capital scalar.

Investment sourceFDD p.42 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

average and median gross sales of existing franchised outlets

Reporting period

fiscal year December 1, 2024 through November 30, 2025

Sample

978 existing U.S. franchised outlets (out of 1,052 total franchised stores open as of 11/30/2025) that did not open for the first time during the fiscal year

Reported average

$604,392

Reported median

$573,674

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Results depend on the disclosed metric, sample and period; consult the full filing.

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.85 ↗

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2025

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

992

Year-end outlets

1052

Net change

+60

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

63

Terminations

0

Non-renewals

2

Other closures

1

Reacquisitions

0

Transfers

79

Transfers are not closures. Net change is ending minus starting outlets for the stated scope and year, or complete openings less terminations, non-renewals, other closures and reacquisitions. Missing inputs stay unknown.

Unit growth sourceFDD p.86 ↗

SBA loan history

Loan activity

166 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$450,000

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

107 loans

Historical charge-off share

1.65%

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

2 / 121

Formula

CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100

This is a historical loan-level share, not a franchise failure probability or location survival rate. Loan size is not total investment. Other loan statuses are excluded from the seasoned denominator. Activity combines 7(a) and 504 approvals, excluding canceled and not-funded records; this is not a rolling five-year count. FY2024-25 franchise tags are sparse after directory suspension; fewer tagged loans do not establish brand decline. Recent charge-off cohorts are immature.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median loan amounts are financing context, not startup cost. The median window is separate from the seasoned charge-off cohort.

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Questions before you invest

How much does Cold Stone Creamery franchise cost?

traditional: $390,675 to $680,775; non-traditional: $255,700 to $533,275 These are format-specific estimates, not a guaranteed cash requirement. Franchise fee: $10,000 to $27,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review..

Investment sourceFDD p.42 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

How much do Cold Stone Creamery owners make?

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Item 19 metric: average and median gross sales of existing franchised outlets. Sample: 978 existing U.S. franchised outlets (out of 1,052 total franchised stores open as of 11/30/2025) that did not open for the first time during the fiscal year. Period: fiscal year December 1, 2024 through November 30, 2025.

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.85 ↗

What's the SBA charge-off rate for Cold Stone Creamery?

1.65%; numerator / denominator: 2 / 121. Historical 7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals; CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100, snapshot 2026-06-30. This is not a franchise failure probability. Median SBA loan: $450,000; window: FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30; sample: 107 loans. Median financing is not total investment.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗