franchisedata.io/brands/subway
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Subway

Top 500 #10Sandwiches & SaladsParent: Roark Capital Group
18,773 Units•HQ: Shelton, CT / Miami, FL•Est. 1965•Official Website •Verified: Sep 10, 2026 19:39:09 UTC

“Eat Fresh”

Key Institutional Metrics

Verified commercial performance, store unit economics, and official regulatory disclosures

Systemwide SalesANNUAL
$9.8B
↑+-1.8% 3-Yr CAGR

Total annual gross sales across all US franchised & company stores combined.

Source: CA DFPI / FDDFY2025
Total Store Fleet
18,773 Units
100% Franchised•0% Company

Standardized brick-and-mortar store count with verified GPS coordinates.

Source: Brand Directory2026
Store Volume (AUV)
$490k
Top 25%: $680k

Annual average sales for a single mature franchised store location.

Source: FTC Item 192025
Royalty & CapitalITEM 5/6/7
8% Royalty
Ad Fund: 4.5%

Initial investment: $220k – $520k.

Source: FDD Item 72025

Executive Intelligence Brief

Official Site

Subway is a private equity enterprise, founded in 1965 and headquartered in Shelton, CT / Miami, FL. Ranked #10 in US restaurant systemwide sales, it stands as a premier flagship in the Sandwiches & Salads category, maintaining a physical footprint of 18,773 store locations (100% franchised). The brand generates an average unit volume (AUV) of $0.52M per store, backed by enterprise in-store technology and multi-platform digital delivery distribution.

Sandwiches & SaladsLimited-Service (LSR)100% Franchised
Ownership StructurePrivate Equity
HeadquartersShelton, CT / Miami, FL
Founded1965 (61 yrs)
Executive LeadershipJohn Chidsey
Live Disclosures & WireContinuous Monitoring Active
Zero material adverse regulatory disclosures in last 90 days. SEC EDGAR and FTC crawlers active.
View Live Wire →

Commercial Index

100% VERIFIED
FDD Item 19 Filing Indexed (2025)
Geocoded Locations18,773 Units
POS ArchitectureNCR
Delivery Multi-HomingDoorDash · Uber Eats
SBA Solvency RatingModerate (4.1% default)
API Standardx402 / REST / MCP
View JSON

Three Pillars of Commercial Health

Standardized unit economics based on FDD Item 19 filings and SBA lending solvency benchmarks

Unit Profitability
Tier-1
Average Unit Sales$490k
Store EBITDA Margin13.8%
Food & Paper Cost32.8%
Labor Cost Ratio28.5%
Commercial Economics Insight:Introduction of automated deli meat slicers and the 'Subway Series' premium menu elevated average check sizes by 14%.
System Expansion
+-1.8% CAGR
Systemwide Sales$9.8B
Net Additions+-210 Units
3-Yr Unit CAGR-1.8%
International Share45%
Expansion & Scale Insight:Shifting away from mom-and-pop single-store operators toward well-capitalized multi-unit consolidators.
Franchisee Solvency
Moderate
SBA Default Rate4.1%
Capital Payback4.5 Yrs
Agreement Term20 Yrs
Renewal Rate90%
Lender Risk & Solvency:Acquisition by Roark Capital in 2024 injected multi-billion dollar capital restructuring and supply chain optimization.

5-Year Performance & Footprint Trend

Historical progression of total units, average unit volume (AUV), and systemwide sales

$0.43M
2020
$0.48M
2021
$0.5M
2022
$0.51M
2023
$0.52M
2024
2024 Total Fleet19,850 Units
2024 Average AUV$0.52M / yr
2024 System Sales$9.8B

Developer & Agent Endpoint

curl -s "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/subway/locations?limit=25"

Queries up to 50 store locations with GPS coordinates, POS hardware, delivery links, and operational status. Supports ?state=CA, ?city=..., ?zip=..., ?drive_thru=true.