Franchise Facts Report → brands → Papa Johns Pizza
Papa Johns Pizza franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Papa Johns Pizza is a well-established quick-service restaurant brand with a transparent Item 19 disclosure showing average systemwide net royalty sales over $1.1 million.
Everything below is free, read straight off Papa Johns Pizza's registered filing, with where the numbers land against quick-service restaurant peers. Weighing Papa Johns Pizza against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Papa Johns Pizza's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 640597 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Papa Johns Pizza? 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. Papa Johns Pizza will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Papa Johns Pizza franchise make?
Papa Johns Pizza 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 $1,097,987 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.
Papa Johns Pizza 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 Papa Johns Pizza's 5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Papa Johns Pizza franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Papa Johns Pizza franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $1,097,987 of revenue, a 5% royalty alone is about $54,899 a year before any other cost.
Papa Johns Pizza lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Papa Johns Pizza'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 Papa Johns Pizza 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.
Papa Johns Pizza closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Papa Johns Pizza 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 Papa Johns Pizza'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. Papa Johns Pizza's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 3%, against a quick-service restaurant median of 2.9% — worse than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +80 to 2,832 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Papa Johns Pizza?
Papa Johns Pizza's franchise is offered by Papa John's Franchising, 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.
Quick-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Papa Johns Pizza 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.
Papa Johns Pizza franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Papa Johns Pizza — who is the franchisor?
Papa Johns Pizza's most recently filed FDD (2026) names Papa John's Franchising, 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 Papa Johns Pizza franchise cost?
Papa Johns Pizza's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $281,485 – $890,267 and a 5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against quick-service restaurant peers it sits in the upper quartile (median $604,609).
How much profit does a Papa Johns Pizza franchise make?
Papa Johns Pizza discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (5% of gross for Papa Johns Pizza), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Papa Johns Pizza franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Papa Johns Pizza discloses is $1,097,987 in average unit revenue.
Does Papa Johns Pizza disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Papa Johns Pizza reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $1,097,987 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Papa Johns Pizza?
Papa Johns Pizza'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 Papa Johns Pizza itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing.
Is Papa Johns Pizza a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Papa Johns Pizza'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 Papa Johns Pizza 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.