Item 19, ranked highest first

Highest disclosed-revenue franchises

Only the 10 of 14 brands here that actually publish an average-unit-revenue figure. The ones that disclose nothing are left off, not because they're worse, but because a number we can't cite isn't one we'll print.

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Item 19 is optional, and that tells you something

The Financial Performance Representation, Item 19, is the one place in the FDD where a franchisor can tell you what its locations actually earn. The FTC does not require it. Many brands leave it blank, and a blank Item 19 is itself a data point: a franchisor confident in its unit economics usually wants you to see them. This list ranks only the brands that put a number on the record, highest average unit revenue first, so you're comparing disclosed figures against disclosed figures rather than against a recruiter's optimism.

A magnifying glass over printed financial charts beside a laptop showing market data — Average unit revenue is a top-line figure. Royalty, ad fund, labor, and occupancy all come out before it becomes an owner's income, and the average can hide a wide spread between the best and worst locations. Photo via Pexels

Revenue is not profit, and the average is not your store

A high average unit revenue is encouraging, not decisive. It's a top-line number: the royalty, the ad-fund contribution, labor, occupancy, and cost of goods all come out before an owner keeps a dollar, and a brand with a big top line and a heavy royalty can leave less behind than a quieter one that keeps its costs down. Read the Item 19 text on each brand's page for what the figure includes, whether it's a mean or a median, and how wide the spread runs between the top and bottom locations. An average built from a handful of flagship stores is a very different promise than one drawn from the whole system.