SBA 7(a) loan outcomes · FY2010–FY2019 cohort · Statuses as of June 30, 2026 · Last updated August 17, 2026
Ace Hardware Franchise Failure Rate: 7.0% SBA Loan Defaults (2010–2019 Federal Data)
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
About 1 in 14 Ace Hardware SBA borrowers failed to repay — below the Hardware Stores average of 7.6%.
Between 2010 and 2019, 256 Ace Hardware franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 18 defaulted — a 7.0% charge-off rate, 0.9x the Hardware Stores average of 7.6%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
What is the Ace Hardware franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Ace Hardware is a Hardware Stores franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Ace Hardware franchisees: 256 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 18 were charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019256
- Charged off18
- Charge-off rate7.0%
- Hardware Stores franchise benchmark7.6%
- Brand vs industry0.9x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$646,830
- New SBA loans since 2020291
- Early charge-offs since 20200
How does Ace Hardware compare with other Hardware Stores franchises?
The table sets Ace Hardware's charge-off rate beside its Hardware Stores peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | Ace Hardware | Hardware Stores | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 7.0% | 7.6% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 256 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 18 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $646,830 | — | — | — |
What has Ace Hardware SBA lending looked like since 2020?
Since 2020, Ace Hardware franchisees have taken 291 new SBA 7(a) loans. None have charged off to date, though most remain outstanding and unresolved.
Loans approved since 2020, by fiscal year — counts only: 0 have charged off to date and most are still outstanding, so no rate is drawn.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 24 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2011 | 19 | 3 | 15.8% |
| FY2012 | 29 | 2 | 6.9% |
| FY2013 | 18 | 2 | 11.1% |
| FY2014 | 31 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 42 | 4 | 9.5% |
| FY2016 | 24 | 3 | 12.5% |
| FY2017 | 20 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2018 | 29 | 4 | 13.8% |
| FY2019 | 20 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2020 | 52 | — | outstanding |
| FY2021 | 79 | — | outstanding |
| FY2022 | 51 | — | outstanding |
| FY2023 | 34 | — | outstanding |
| FY2024 | 11 | — | outstanding |
| FY2025 | 27 | — | outstanding |
| FY2026 | 37 | — | outstanding |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
Ace Hardware's figure rests on 256 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019 — a matured cohort, so the rate is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 256 resolved loans, the sample is large enough that a single default barely moves the figure. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every Ace Hardware figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Frequently asked
- What is Ace Hardware's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
- Between 2010 and 2019, 256 Ace Hardware franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 18 defaulted — a 7.0% charge-off rate, 0.9x the Hardware Stores average of 7.6%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
- Is Ace Hardware a safe franchise investment?
- Between 2010–2019, Ace Hardware franchisees defaulted on SBA loans at 7.0% versus a 7.6% industry average. This data is one input for due diligence; it is not investment advice.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Ace Hardware franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 7.0% (18 of 256 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/ace-hardware/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)