How much do franchise owners actually make?
Most articles quote one survey average. Four franchisors publish real profit numbers in their disclosure documents. Here they are, with the page number for each.
A franchisor may tell you what its owners earn, but only inside Item 19 of its Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), the official sales paper every franchisor must hand a buyer. Many franchisors say nothing there. Some publish sales only. A few publish profit. We read the 2026 filings of four that do.
The four filings side by side
| Franchise | Average profit shown | Worst case shown | Who is counted | FDD page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Joint Chiropractic | $93,945 net profit (16.2% of sales); median $75,780 | ($214,488), a loss | 492 of 799 clinics (the ones that sent profit data) | p. 48 |
| Dogtopia | 18.5% net operating margin for franchised stores | 6.5% in the smallest-sales group (all stores); -0.2% for company-owned smallest group | 101 franchised stores that returned books | pp. 54–55 |
| Goldfish Swim School | $560,524 profit before other expenses (28.1% of sales); median $475,014 | ($197,689), a loss | 169 schools open 12+ months | p. 59 |
| Scenthound | $58,264 net operating income (11.5% of sales); median $44,105 | ($66,677), a loss | 82 of 114 shops that gave full financials | p. 61 |
Figures are for calendar 2025 and come from each company's 2026 FDD. Goldfish's number is before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and owner pay. Dogtopia is shown as a percentage of sales, not dollars.
What the numbers say
The average hides a wide range. The Joint's average clinic made $93,945, but its worst reported clinic lost $214,488 and its best made $721,366. Scenthound's average is $58,264, and its worst shop lost $66,677. An average tells you nothing about which end you will land on.
Sales are not profit. The Joint's average clinic took in $578,201 in the profit group, and kept 16.2% of it. About 48% went to labor and 7% to the franchisor in royalties (page 48). Goldfish schools average nearly $2 million in sales, and profit still sits before owner pay.
Smaller stores keep far less. Dogtopia's stores with under $900,000 in sales kept a 6.5% net operating margin. Stores above $1.5 million kept 30.0% (page 54). Which group you land in decides the deal.
Not every owner is in the data. Only 492 of The Joint's 799 reporting clinics gave profit data. Only 82 of Scenthound's 114 did. Owners who struggle are less likely to hand in books, so the true average is probably lower. That last sentence is our judgment, not a number from the filings.
Before you trust any earnings claim
- Does Item 19 show profit, or only sales? Sales-only filings, like Crumbl's, tell you how much comes in, not how much stays.
- How many outlets are counted, out of how many? The Joint counts 492 of 799 for profit. A small slice of the system can flatter the average.
- Is owner pay taken out? If it is not, the "profit" may be your only wage.
- What did the worst outlet make? Three of the four filings above show a loss at the low end. Ask yours.
- What do current owners say? Item 20 lists owners with contact details. Call five, including some who left.
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