Franchise Facts Report → brands → Shipley Do-Nuts
Shipley Do-Nuts franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Shipley Do-Nuts is a food and beverage franchise with an investment range of $516,512 to $855,147.
Everything below is free, read straight off Shipley Do-Nuts's registered filing, with where the numbers land against food & beverage peers. Weighing Shipley Do-Nuts against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Shipley Do-Nuts's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641533 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
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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. Shipley Do-Nuts will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Shipley Do-Nuts franchise make?
Shipley Do-Nuts 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 $933,203 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 food & beverage brand that discloses earnings in the Food & beverage franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Shipley Do-Nuts 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 Shipley Do-Nuts's 5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Shipley Do-Nuts franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Shipley Do-Nuts franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $933,203 of revenue, a 5% royalty alone is about $46,660 a year before any other cost.
Shipley Do-Nuts lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Shipley Do-Nuts's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose 8 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 Shipley Do-Nuts 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. 8 of those proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
Shipley Do-Nuts closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Shipley Do-Nuts 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 Shipley Do-Nuts's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a food & beverage 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. Shipley Do-Nuts's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 2%, against a food & beverage median of 3.3% — at or better than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +27 to 381 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Shipley Do-Nuts?
Shipley Do-Nuts's franchise is offered by SHIPLEY FRANCHISE COMPANY 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.
Food & beverage franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Shipley Do-Nuts 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.
Shipley Do-Nuts franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Shipley Do-Nuts — who is the franchisor?
Shipley Do-Nuts's most recently filed FDD (2026) names SHIPLEY FRANCHISE COMPANY 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 Shipley Do-Nuts franchise cost?
Shipley Do-Nuts's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $516,512 – $855,147, with an initial franchise fee of $40,000 and a 5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against food & beverage peers it sits in the bottom quartile (median $379,725).
How much profit does a Shipley Do-Nuts franchise make?
Shipley Do-Nuts discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (5% of gross for Shipley Do-Nuts), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Shipley Do-Nuts franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Shipley Do-Nuts discloses is $933,203 in average unit revenue.
Does Shipley Do-Nuts disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Shipley Do-Nuts reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $933,203 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Shipley Do-Nuts?
Shipley Do-Nuts's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses 8 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 Shipley Do-Nuts itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing. 8 of the disclosed proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor.
Is Shipley Do-Nuts a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Shipley Do-Nuts's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against food & beverage 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 Shipley Do-Nuts or food & beverage: 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.