The Franchise 500 is an annual ranking of the top 500 franchising companies in the U.S. and Canada, compiled by Entrepreneur magazine through a submission and review process. [1] The ranking is based on an evaluation of each company's costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. [2] The list includes both public and privately held companies, and has been published annually since 1980. [3] [4]
Each company that applies for the Franchise 500 through the online submission form is required to submit a copy of its current Franchise Disclosure Document and other supporting documents in order to verify the information submitted. All qualifying applicants are scored by Entrepreneur's proprietary formula, which evaluates franchise companies based on more than 150 data points across five pillars: costs and fees, size and growth, support, financial strength and stability, and brand strength. The 500 top-scoring companies become the Franchise 500. Entrepreneur typically receives more than 1,000 applications for the ranking annually.
In addition to the main Franchise 500 ranking, Entrepreneur uses the data provided through the Franchise 500 applications to create additional smaller rankings and lists that are published throughout the year, including "Fastest-Growing Franchises," "Top New & Emerging Franchises," "Top Low-Cost Franchises," "Top Global Franchises," "Best of the Best", "Top Franchises for Veterans", "Top Homebased/Mobile Franchises" and "Top Food Franchises." [5]
In 2022, the ten companies that ranked at the top of the 500 were: [5]
| Rank | Company | Headquarters | Industry | Franchises (U.S.) | Total Units (Global) | Investment (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taco Bell |  Irvine, CA | Food and Beverage | 6,418 | 7,567 | $575.6K - $3.4M |
| 2 | The UPS Store | San Diego, CA | Postage | 5,006 | 5,359 | $185.3K - $474.2K |
| 3 | Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen | Miami, FL | Food and Beverage | 2,654 | 3,575 | $383.5K - $3.5M |
| 4 | Jersey Mike's Subs | Manasquan, NJ | Food and Beverage | 1,942 | 1,973 | $144.7K - $786.2K |
| 5 | Culver's | Prairie du Sac, WI | Food and Beverage | 802 | 808 | $2.4M - $5.4M |
| 6 | Kumon | Ridgefield Park, NJ | Children's Businesses | 1,592 | 26,365 | $64.5K - $139.9K |
| 7 | Planet Fitness | Hampton, NH | Fitness Centers | 2,006 | 2,174 | $936.6K - $4.6M |
| 8 | Servpro | Gallatin, TN | Maintenance | 1,915 | 1,930 | $191.8K - $245.7K |
| 9 | 7-Eleven | Dallas, TX | Retail | 7,458 | 77,346 | $69.7K - $1.2M |
| 10 | Tropical Smoothie Cafe | Atlanta, GA | Food and Beverage | 990 | 991 | $257.5K - $560.5K |
Inc. is an American business magazine founded in 1979 and based in New York City. The magazine publishes six issues per year, along with surrounding online and social media content. The magazine also produces several live and virtual events yearly.
Entrepreneur is an American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business. The magazine was first published in 1977. It is published by Entrepreneur Media Inc., headquartered in Irvine, California. The magazine publishes 10 issues annually, available through subscription and on newsstands. It is or has been published under license internationally in Mexico, Russia, India, Hungary, the Philippines, South Africa, and others. Its editor-in-chief is Jason Feifer and its owner is Peter Shea.
James Joseph Greco is an American businessman and entrepreneur. Currently, he serves as the president and chief executive officer of foodservice investment firm Pilgrim Holdings. Throughout his career, he has held numerous executive positions in the foodservice industry, as well as various directorships.
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Geotab Inc. is a privately held company that provides telematics hardware which it presents as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These devices feed their software as a service analytics platform. Headquartered in Oakville, Ontario it specializes in connecting commercial vehicles to the internet and providing web-based analytics for fleet management Geotab’s telematics allows businesses of all sizes to automate operations by integrating vehicle data and their other data assets. Geotab’s products are represented and sold worldwide through Authorized Geotab Resellers.
Pagefreezer is a SaaS company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The company provides website, social media, text message, and enterprise collaboration platform archiving to meet regulatory compliance and eDiscovery requirements.
Michele Romanow is a Canadian tech entrepreneur, television personality, board director and venture capitalist. She co-founded Clearbanc, a Toronto based provider of revenue sharing solutions to fund new online businesses, and other e-businesses, and made the list of 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada in 2015. She was named as one of the Forbes Top 20 Most Disruptive "Millennials on a Mission" in 2013 and Canadian Innovation Awards’ Angel Investor of the Year in 2018. Romanow joined the cast of CBC’s Dragons' Den in Season 10.
Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) is an American boutique fitness studio franchise based in Boca Raton, Florida. The first studio was established in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2010 by founder, Ellen Latham. The classes are one hour long and involve two groups, one on the treadmills and the other group working with weights or on rowers. As of 2023, Orangetheory Fitness has over 1,500 studios throughout 50 US states and 24 countries. Since its founding in 2010, the chain has expanded, surpassing $1 billion in systemwide sales in 2018. As of 2020, the chain has over one million members.
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F45 Training is an Australian franchisor and operator of fitness centers based in Austin, Texas. It has over 2,000 studios in over 60 countries across Australia/Oceania, North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. It was ranked the fastest growing fitness franchise in the US in 2021, one of the fastest globally, and has approximately 2,000 studios worldwide, including approximately 500 studios in Australia and nearly 1,000 studios in the United States as of 2023. The fitness franchise was launched in 2011 by Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch as part of a move to modernize gym participation. The franchise group still focuses on functional movement, but now consists of three concepts: F45 Training, FS8, and Vive Active.
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