What are Wendy's franchise royalty fees?

Wendy's charges a 6% royalty fee on gross sales.

What is the Wendy's franchise fee?

The initial franchise fee for Wendy's is $50,000.

How many Wendy's franchise locations are there?

There are approximately 5,627 Wendy's franchise locations as of 2023.

How much profit does a Wendy's franchise make?

The median revenue for a Wendy's franchise is $2.0M, with a cash-on-cash return of 6.1%, according to FDD Item 19 data.

What is the SBA loan default rate for Wendy's?

Wendy's has an SBA loan default rate of 0.0% based on SBA 7(a) loan data.

Is a Wendy's franchise worth it?

Whether a Wendy's franchise is worth it depends on total startup cost, royalty burden, FDD Item 19 economics, SBA loan performance, and local operator execution. FDDIQ compares these signals against similar franchises so buyers can screen the opportunity before paying for diligence.

Scorecard Worth It?History Database Compare Distress Signals

QSRFull DisclosureItem 19: ✓ DisclosedHigh Confidence · 100/100

Wendy's Franchise Cost and Profit

FDD-based startup cost, franchise fee, revenue, profit, SBA default rate, and investment risk signals for Wendy's.

Based on 2025 FDD · 4 filings in corpus

FranchiseIQ Score

Moderate-Low Risk

Composite score from 3 risk dimensions. Click for breakdown ↓

Health Score

49/100

7/7 metrics · High confidence

Full analysis unlocks:

✓ Cash-on-Cash return
✓ Payback period
✓ SBA default rate
✓ Red flags assessment
✓ Comparable franchises

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Cost and profit at a glance

How much does a Wendy's franchise cost and make?

Based on FDDIQ's FDD corpus, a Wendy's franchise shows an estimated initial investment of $1.5M – $3.0M. Reported owner economics show $138K. Use the links below to compare the cost, revenue, SBA loan history, and ROI against other franchises before you request the full FDD.

Startup Cost

$1.5M – $3.0M

Total initial investment

Profit / Revenue

$138K

FDD Item 19 signal

Payback Signal

16.3 years

Modeled return metric

SBA Default Rate

0.0%

Loan repayment history

Compare franchise costs →Estimate franchise ROI →Check SBA default rates →Browse QSR franchises →Compare similar franchises →

Quick fee read: $50K franchise fee · 6.0% royalty/ad burden. These figures are directional screening data, not a substitute for reading the current FDD and speaking with existing operators.

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Before you talk to Wendy's, check the numbers buyers usually miss.

The unlocked report ties this brand's FDD disclosures to SBA outcomes, Item 20 movement, fee load, missing-data labels, and buyer assumptions — so you can decide whether this is worth deeper diligence.

FDD disclosure qualitySBA default outcomesItem 20 unit movementFee/cost stressComparable brands

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Total Investment Range$1.5M – $3.0M

MinMid: $2.3MMax

Key Metrics

Franchise Fee

$50K

Royalty Rate

Ad Fund Rate

Total Burden

6.0%

Royalty + ad fund

Units (2023)

5,627

-75 vs prior yr

Net Unit Growth

→ -1.3%

Year over year

Net Closure Rate

1.3%

From FDD Item 20

Cash-on-Cash Return

6.1%

Annual estimated return

Payback Period

16.3 yrs

Break-even timeline

SBA Default Rate

0.0%

vs ~7.2% industry avg

Median Revenue

$2.0M

Item 19 disclosed

Premium Data

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CoC ReturnPayback PeriodSBA Default RateMedian RevenueEbitda MarginRisk Score

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Estimated using sector-average margins. Actual franchise economics vary by location, operator, and market conditions.

Wendy's vs. QSR Average

MetricWendy'sQSR Avg

SBA Default Rate0.0%▲9.4%

Cash-on-Cash Return6.1%▼14.2%

Total Investment$2.3M$380K

Industry averages based on FranchiseIQ corpus benchmarks. ▲ = better than avg, ▼ = worse.

SBA Loan Performance

Real lending data from SBA 7(a) loans (2010-2025). 55 loans across 15 states.

Default Rate

0.0%

Low Risk

Total SBA Loans

15 states

Total Loan Volume

$70.8M

SBA 7(a) approved

Avg Loan Size

$1.3M

Per franchisee

Loan Status Breakdown

Paid in Full (51%)

Currently Active

Charged Off

Total Charged Off ($)

● Paid● Active● Charged Off

Source: SBA 7(a) loan data via FOIA. Default rate = charged-off loans / total originated. Industry avg default rate ~7.2%.

Compare

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Multi-Brand Operators · Who Runs This Brand

Flynn Group

View Hub

San Francisco, CA· 2,850+ locations

200 locations of this brand