Wendy's franchise research

Investment by format

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

Investment sourceFDD p.25 ↗

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$25,000 to $50,000 · 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 monthly (due 15th) for traditional/Groundbreaker restaurants; 5% Pacesetter; 6% military bases and Build-to-Suit

Marketing contribution

4% (basis not captured; see original filing)

Technology fee

$6,620 - $15,000 per restaurant per year, paid quarterly

Other fees

Cyber insurance premium ~$800 per restaurant per year (quarterly); Customer Care $95 per restaurant per month; Continuous Operations Fee on unapproved early termination

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

Pre-Opening Expenses, Training Expenses, and Additional Operating Funds $117,000 - $205,000; additional prepaid expenses for ~3 months $88,000 - $163,000 ($115,000 average)

Fees sourceFDD p.19 ↗

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.25 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

Average, median and min-max annual gross sales for franchise and company restaurants (Table 1), non-traditional franchise sales (Table 2), and P&L with EBITDA before rent for traditional company restaurants (Table 3)

Reporting period

Fiscal Year 2025 (Dec 30, 2024 - Dec 28, 2025)

Sample

5,347 franchise restaurants and 367 company restaurants with at least 52 consecutive weeks of sales (305 franchise and 63 company excluded); Table 3 based on 360 traditional company restaurants

Reported average

$1,993,657

Reported median

$1,866,652

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.59 ↗

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2025

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

5552

Year-end outlets

5546

Net change

-6

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

100

Terminations

3

Non-renewals

15

Other closures

53

Reacquisitions

35

Transfers

113

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.63 ↗

SBA loan history

Loan activity

18 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$673,000

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

11 loans

Historical charge-off share

0.00%

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

0 / 34

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 Wendy's franchise cost?

Cash purchase of TAF, building, equipment (before land): $1,580,457 to $3,105,000; Financed TAF, building, equipment: $409,691 to $785,000 These are format-specific estimates, not a guaranteed cash requirement. Franchise fee: $25,000 to $50,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review..

Investment sourceFDD p.25 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

How much do Wendy's owners make?

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Item 19 metric: Average, median and min-max annual gross sales for franchise and company restaurants (Table 1), non-traditional franchise sales (Table 2), and P&L with EBITDA before rent for traditional company restaurants (Table 3). Sample: 5,347 franchise restaurants and 367 company restaurants with at least 52 consecutive weeks of sales (305 franchise and 63 company excluded); Table 3 based on 360 traditional company restaurants. Period: Fiscal Year 2025 (Dec 30, 2024 - Dec 28, 2025).

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.59 ↗

What's the SBA charge-off rate for Wendy's?

0.00%; numerator / denominator: 0 / 34. 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: $673,000; window: FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30; sample: 11 loans. Median financing is not total investment.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗