SBA 7(a) loan outcomes · FY2010–FY2019 cohort · Statuses as of June 30, 2026 · Last updated August 17, 2026
Papa John's Franchise Failure Rate: 28.6% 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 3 Papa John's SBA borrowers failed to repay — more than double the Limited-Service Restaurants average of 10.3%.
Between 2010 and 2019, 21 Papa John's franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 6 defaulted — a 28.6% charge-off rate, 2.8x the Limited-Service Restaurants average of 10.3%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
What is the Papa John's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Papa John's is a Limited-Service Restaurants franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Papa John's franchisees: 21 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 6 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–FY201921
- Charged off6
- Charge-off rate28.6%
- Limited-Service Restaurants franchise benchmark10.3%
- Brand vs industry2.8x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$471,786
- New SBA loans since 202057
- Early charge-offs since 20201
How does Papa John's compare with other Limited-Service Restaurants franchises?
The table sets Papa John's's charge-off rate beside its Limited-Service Restaurants 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. A cell in red is more than twice the industry benchmark.
| Measure | Papa John's | Limited-Service Restaurants | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 28.6% | 10.3% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 21 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 6 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $471,786 | — | — | — |
What has Papa John's SBA lending looked like since 2020?
Since 2020, Papa John's franchisees have taken 57 new SBA 7(a) loans. 1 has already charged off. Early defaults on loans under six years old are notable — most SBA failures take longer to develop.
Loans approved since 2020, by fiscal year — counts only: 1 has 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| FY2017 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2018 | 13 | 4 | 30.8% |
| FY2019 | 6 | 1 | 16.7% |
| FY2020 | 12 | — | outstanding |
| FY2021 | 15 | — | outstanding |
| FY2022 | 5 | — | outstanding |
| FY2023 | 7 | — | outstanding |
| FY2024 | 10 | — | outstanding |
| FY2025 | 6 | — | outstanding |
| FY2026 | 2 | — | 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?
Papa John's's figure rests on 21 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 21 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 4.8 percentage points. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every Papa John's figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Based on 21 resolved loans — directional, not precise.
Frequently asked
- What is Papa John's's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
- Between 2010 and 2019, 21 Papa John's franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 6 defaulted — a 28.6% charge-off rate, 2.8x the Limited-Service Restaurants average of 10.3%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
- Is Papa John's a safe franchise investment?
- Between 2010–2019, Papa John's franchisees defaulted on SBA loans at 28.6% versus a 10.3% industry average. This data is one input for due diligence; it is not investment advice.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Papa John's franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 28.6% (6 of 21 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/papa-johns/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)