Publicly Traded Franchise Companies: Openings, Closures and Net Unit Growth

How many units publicly traded franchise companies opened, closed and added

This tracker reads the unit tables in the latest Form 10-K of 39 US-listed franchisors: 23 restaurant companies, 4 hotel companies, 2 fitness franchisors, 3 personal-service brands, 2 automotive-service companies and 5 other service and retail franchisors. Together they reported 288,069 units at their latest fiscal year end.

22 of the 39 grew in the latest fiscal year and 17 shrank. The median net growth rate was 1.0%, down from 2.2% the year before. The largest net additions came from Yum! Brands (1,939 units), McDonald’s (1,879) and Yum China (1,793), while several smaller restaurant and personal-service systems lost units.

Each figure below comes from a 10-K table or sentence; the CSV gives the exact row, column and 10-K section for every value. Where a company does not report openings or closures, the table says so instead of estimating them. Revenue mix and royalty economics are covered separately in how franchisors make money.

Who grew fastest and slowest in net units

Net unit growth in the latest fiscal year ranged from 19.2% at Wingstop to -9.6% at Rave Restaurant Group. These are stated counts from the filings, not forecasts.

Wingstop went from 2,563 to 3,056 restaurants in FY2025, with 509 openings and 16 closures (Wingstop FY2025 10-K). Dutch Bros added 154 shops and its table shows no closures (Dutch Bros FY2025 10-K). Yum China’s KFC and Pizza Hut tables show 2,378 new builds and 585 closures in mainland China (Yum China FY2025 10-K).

At the other end, Rave Restaurant Group opened 8 units and closed 21 in FY2026, Noodles & Company opened 2 and closed 42 in FY2025, and Regis Corporation closed 237 salons against 8 constructed in FY2026. Among the largest systems, McDonald’s grew 4.3%, Domino’s Pizza 3.6% and Yum! Brands 3.2%.

For context, the IFA’s 2026 Franchising Economic Outlook forecasts 1.5% growth in all US franchise establishments in 2026, from 832,521 (IFA, February 19, 2026). That figure covers a different population (all US franchise establishments, mostly private brands) and is a forecast; see franchise industry growth for the national series.

Openings vs closures by sector

Openings outnumber closures in every sector with disclosed flows except personal services and the other services and retail group. In the latest fiscal year, the 18 restaurant companies that disclose both opened 7.0% of starting units and closed 2.8%. Hotels opened 8.0% and removed 2.8%; fitness opened 9.3% and closed 2.6%.

Personal services ran the other way: the three companies opened 0.8% and closed 5.1%, and none of them grew. The other services and retail group (H&R Block, RE/MAX, Winmark, Upbound, HireQuest) had a median change of -1.5%.

Pooled rates are dominated by the largest system in each group (Yum! Brands and McDonald’s in restaurants, Marriott in hotels), so the table also gives the median company. Hotel figures count properties, and Marriott’s additions include acquired brands. For restaurant-industry context, see restaurant franchise statistics.

How many units close each year at large franchise brands

The median closure rate was 3.5% of starting units in the latest fiscal year and 2.7% in the prior year. The middle half of companies closed 1.1% to 4.5%. 19 of 29 sat between 1% and 6%; the range ran from 0.0% to 15.6%.

The rate is stable inside a company: 20 of 29 companies changed by 1 percentage point or less between the two years, and 22 by 2 points or less. It differs between companies. Growing systems closed less: the median among 17 growing companies was 1.5%, though Yum! Brands (4.3%, derived), Xponential Fitness (4.8%, derived) and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (4.5%) grew while closing more than 4%.

These are not the FDD closure rates in our franchise closure rates index. That index counts terminations, non-renewals, buybacks and ceased operations of franchised outlets in 220 mostly smaller systems (median 4.7%, FDD Item 20), using the Item 20 tables the FTC rule prescribes (16 CFR 436.5(t)). A 10-K closure is a unit that left the system, franchised or company-run, in a much larger system. Treat the two as different populations.

Refranchising: is the franchised share rising?

Refranchising means selling company-operated units to franchisees, which raises the franchised share. In the latest fiscal year the franchised share rose at 17 of 37 companies, fell at 14 and was unchanged at 6. 10 filings state a number of units refranchised and 7 state units bought from franchisees, so movement runs in both directions.

The largest rise was at Bloomin’ Brands (19.9% to 33.8%), where 193 restaurants in Brazil moved to a franchisee (Bloomin’ Brands FY2025 10-K). The Joint Corp. refranchised 41 clinics (87.1% to 92.2%), Papa John’s 85 restaurants, Valvoline 39 stores and Domino’s Pizza 35 U.S. stores.

The other direction: Restaurant Brands International’s company sites rose from 1,367 to 2,380, First Watch bought 19 franchise restaurants, Dine Brands 22 and The Wendy’s Company a net 30. Regis Corporation took 314 franchise salons into company ownership in FY2025, so its franchised share went from 99.6% to 92.5%.

The filings do not show a single direction. Sellers include both mostly franchised systems (Domino’s, Papa John’s) and systems with large company fleets (Bloomin’ Brands); buyers include Wendy’s, Dine Brands and First Watch. How refranchising changes royalty and rent income is covered in how franchisors make money; signed but unopened agreements are in the franchise development backlog.

International vs U.S. units

17 companies split units by geography for both years. In those companies, international units grew 4.8% in the latest fiscal year and home-market units 0.7%; 15 of 17 grew faster abroad.

Wingstop’s international restaurants grew 30.9% against 17.3% in the U.S. Marriott International grew 10.2% outside the U.S. and Canada and 2.0% inside. Choice Hotels’ international hotels grew 10.3% while its U.S. franchise system changed -2.2%. International units are 67.5% of Domino’s Pizza’s stores.

Home market is each company’s own label: some report the U.S. alone, others the U.S. and Canada or North America. Companies such as McDonald’s and Yum! Brands report segments rather than a U.S. unit count, so they are not in this comparison.

Update log and what the filings do not say

Checked 2026-10-08. The tracker is rechecked monthly for new 10-K filings; most companies with calendar fiscal years file in February and March. Fiscal years differ: 5 companies (Nathan’s Famous, Brinker, H&R Block, Regis and Rave) already report FY2026.

Disclosure is uneven. 22 filings state openings and closures directly; 7 more allow them to be derived (for example, gross openings minus stated net new units); 9 give neither: Restaurant Brands International, Krispy Kreme, Biglari Holdings, The ONE Group Hospitality, Choice Hotels, Driven Brands, Valvoline, H&R Block, RE/MAX Holdings. Brinker states openings but not closures. Valvoline publishes its store roll-forward as a graphic, so only the net figure is available in text.

Financial condition of these companies is outside this tracker; see franchisor financial health. If you are weighing a specific brand, its FDD gives outlet counts by state (see buying a franchise and franchise ideas).