Franchise Facts Report → brands → Jimmy John's
Jimmy John's franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Jimmy John's is a quick-service restaurant brand with a substantial footprint of 2,737 outlets.
Everything below is free, read straight off Jimmy John's's registered filing. Weighing Jimmy John's against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Jimmy John's's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 640451 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Jimmy John's? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Jimmy John's will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Jimmy John's franchise make?
Jimmy John's is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure is $1,107,798 in average unit revenue — read it alongside what Item 19 says about which units it covers (often only mature or top-performing locations). See every quick-service restaurant brand that discloses earnings in the Fast food & quick-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Jimmy John's franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Jimmy John's's 6% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Jimmy John's franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Jimmy John's franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $1,107,798 of revenue, a 6% royalty alone is about $66,468 a year before any other cost.
Jimmy John's lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Jimmy John's's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose legal proceedings in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Jimmy John's itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
Jimmy John's closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Jimmy John's will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Jimmy John's's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a quick-service restaurant of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Jimmy John's's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 0.8%, against a quick-service restaurant median of 2.9% — at or better than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +90 to 2,737 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Jimmy John's?
Jimmy John's's franchise is offered by Jimmy John's Franchisor SPV, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Other quick-service restaurant franchises
Anyone weighing Jimmy John's is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Jimmy John's franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Jimmy John's — who is the franchisor?
Jimmy John's's most recently filed FDD (2026) names Jimmy John's Franchisor SPV, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Jimmy John's franchise cost?
Jimmy John's's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at a range disclosed in Item 7, with an initial franchise fee of $35,000 and a 6% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote.
How much profit does a Jimmy John's franchise make?
Jimmy John's discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (6% of gross for Jimmy John's), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Jimmy John's franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Jimmy John's discloses is $1,107,798 in average unit revenue.
Does Jimmy John's disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Jimmy John's reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $1,107,798 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Jimmy John's?
Jimmy John's's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses legal proceedings in Item 3. Item 3 covers the franchisor, its predecessors, parents and affiliates — so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Jimmy John's itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing.
Is Jimmy John's a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Jimmy John's's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against quick-service restaurant peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Jimmy John's or quick-service restaurant: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.