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FranchiseWireThe gas station chain's sandwich shop acquisition shows how the convenience sector is moving to capture full-service dining traffic at high-volume locations.
QSR Magazine / Lola BeansA Texas husband-and-wife team running established Crumbl and Wingstop portfolios chose Lola Beans as their next brand, targeting 15 Dallas-Fort Worth locations from Q1 2026.
PIRTEK USAThe hydraulic hose franchise sold 22 territories and opened 7 locations in Q3, entering New Hampshire and Kansas while climbing 12 spots on Franchise Times' Top 400.
Shipley Do-NutsThe Houston-based donut brand opened 25 shops through September, with Q4 on pace to outrun 2024's full-year total by more than 60 percent.
ScenthoundDr. Jaime Pickett brings 18 years of multi-unit franchise operations to a pet wellness brand built on subscription-based grooming.
Nation's Restaurant NewsPie Investments absorbs a large corporate portfolio and commits to 52 additional locations, clearing 150 units across six states.
FranchiseWireThe carpet cleaning franchise rolls out a second service franchisees can launch with existing training and infrastructure.
FranchiseWireNew data shows franchise buyers in 2026 cite community ties and generational wealth as primary motivators, not just income.
FranchiseWireFrom stabilizing interest rates to the emergence of generative search, the forces reshaping franchise development and unit performance in 2026 are already visible.
Franchise TimesAn IFA-commissioned Oxford Economics study finds franchise employment outpaced comparable sectors by 10 percent and workers receive better benefits than non-franchise peers.
Auxo Capital AdvisorsNew franchise buyers are still entering the market, but the operators closing the most development agreements are overwhelmingly existing franchisees expanding within their systems. The shift is reshaping development pipelines, franchisor relationships, and how brands think about the difference between growing their system and growing their network.
Chicken Salad ChickThe Southern fast casual brand committed to 25 locations across Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and the Upper Hudson Valley — its largest single development agreement on record. The deal extends Chicken Salad Chick's footprint toward the Canadian border and signals an accelerating push into Northern markets.
FranchiseWireLower interest rates, solid unit economics, and pent-up PE capital are converging to make 2026 one of the most active deal years in franchise history.
Franchise FastLaneThe spin-strength-yoga brand rejoins its development partner with a compact footprint and three new revenue streams designed for multi-unit scale.
Yahoo FinanceAfter years of franchisee pricing pressure, McDonald's doubled down on value deals and reversed a sustained traffic decline in Q4 2025.
Franchise TimesThe FTC's $39.75 million action against Xponential Fitness over earnings claims in its FDDs is the clearest signal yet that disclosure compliance is no longer an afterthought regulators will overlook.
FranchiseWireOne of North America's largest HVAC service networks is inviting owner-operators into its system for the first time since 1990, targeting markets where its corporate footprint has gaps.
FranchiseWireSimultaneous investments from two unrelated families in Southlake point to growing confidence in the surface refinishing brand.
FranchiseWireThe New York bagel startup's Series B round signals that institutional investors see franchise-ready food concepts as a durable asset class even at significant valuations.
FranchiseWireThe tech-forward real estate franchisor's unsolicited bid would combine two of the industry's largest franchise networks under one parent.
Access WinnipegFoodtastic wins exclusive master franchise rights to develop Dunkin across the Canadian market it abandoned eight years ago.
Revscale MediaAs recruitment and lead response move to always-on software, franchise brands are rethinking how they find franchisees and fill new units.
Franchising.comLending constraints are filtering out first-time candidates, pushing franchisors to compete for a smaller pool of experienced, multi-unit operators.
FSR MagazineStricter underwriting is concentrating new franchise agreements among experienced multi-unit operators, forcing franchisors to compete for a smaller, more sophisticated candidate pool.
