Hardee's Restaurant franchise research

Investment by format

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

Investment sourceFDD p.38 ↗

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$15,000 to $25,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review.

Royalty

4% · 4% of Gross Sales, paid within 10 calendar days after the end of each fiscal week

Marketing contribution

4.25% (basis not captured; see original filing)

Technology fee

Star University (LMS) Access Fee currently $18.20 per 4-week fiscal period; Software Support Fee (Genius or PAR Brink + CrunchTime) currently $118 per restaurant per fiscal period plus $825 per restaurant bi-annually for CrunchTime back-office support, plus small hosting fees

Other fees

Secret Shopper/QA re-audit fee, currently $211/restaurant; Operations Assessment re-audit fee, currently $185/restaurant; Supply Chain Fee of $0.07-$140 per product/service (collected from suppliers, not billed directly to franchisees)

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

$160,000 to $250,000, covering estimated payroll, taxes, insurance, food, paper, supplies, utilities, licenses/permits, bank charges and repair/maintenance for the first 3 months; excludes advertising contributions and royalty fees.

Fees sourceFDD p.30 ↗

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.38 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

Average and median gross Revenue (no profit/EBITDA metric disclosed)

Reporting period

FY26: 53-week period January 28, 2025 to January 26, 2026

Sample

975 franchised freestanding restaurants (part of 1,169 total freestanding restaurants used in the FPR, out of 1,485 total systemwide restaurants; 316 restaurants excluded for being non-freestanding, Dual Concept, or incomplete data)

Reported average

$1,347,436

Reported median

$1,294,442

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.74 ↗

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2026 (fiscal year ended January 26, 2026)

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

1369

Year-end outlets

1287

Net change

-82

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

7

Terminations

12

Non-renewals

3

Other closures

72

Reacquisitions

2

Transfers

2

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.76 ↗

SBA loan history

Loan activity

3 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$2,595,000

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

2 loans

Historical charge-off share

Suppressed: fewer than 10 seasoned loans

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

1 / 8

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 Hardee's Restaurant franchise cost?

Standard new-construction Traditional (freestanding) Location: $1,385,000 to $2,637,395; Purchase of existing company-operated (Former Corporate) Restaurant: Not captured (invalid or incomplete range) These are format-specific estimates, not a guaranteed cash requirement. Franchise fee: $15,000 to $25,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review..

Investment sourceFDD p.38 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

How much do Hardee's Restaurant owners make?

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Item 19 metric: Average and median gross Revenue (no profit/EBITDA metric disclosed). Sample: 975 franchised freestanding restaurants (part of 1,169 total freestanding restaurants used in the FPR, out of 1,485 total systemwide restaurants; 316 restaurants excluded for being non-freestanding, Dual Concept, or incomplete data). Period: FY26: 53-week period January 28, 2025 to January 26, 2026.

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.74 ↗

What's the SBA charge-off rate for Hardee's Restaurant?

Suppressed: fewer than 10 seasoned loans; numerator / denominator: 1 / 8. 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: $2,595,000; window: FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30; sample: 2 loans. Median financing is not total investment.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗