Most Franchise Development Teams Stuck to Expansion Plans or Grew Them in 2025

By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights

January 28, 2026 – When asked about how business conditions impacted their expansion plans in 2025, 79% of franchise development teams said they either stuck to their plans or expanded them beyond expectations. 

This is significantly higher than the 58% in 2024 and 58.3% in 2023 who reported not pulling back any from their annual franchise development plans.

Further, 18.5% of franchise system respondents reported increasing beyond their original expansion budgets during the year, up from 11.6% in 2024, and exceeding the 2023 level of 16.7%. A third of franchise systems reported expanding their growth budgets in 2022 as the pandemic receded.

79% of Franchise Development teams either maintained or exceeded their expansion budgets to pursue growth in 2025. 

Franchise systems are famous for leaning into headwinds. A new administration, government shutdowns, and regulatory uncertainty did not keep franchises from executing their growth plans. 

The survey, conducted in December 2025 and January 2026 by FranchiseInsights.com represented a cross-section of franchise development teams, from emerging systems to well-established franchises with thousands of units.

The full results of the 2025-2026 Franchise Lead Sources Survey will be presented in the coming weeks.

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Published on Tuesday, January 27th, 2026.