From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source
2024 FDD · 1+ year old
SBA-eligible · directory code S1079 since 2017
Marco's Pizza
Pizza · parent company: not identified
Marco's Pizza is a pizza restaurant chain offering Italian-style pizzas made with fresh dough and sauce, plus subs, wings, and salads. Most business is takeout and delivery from quick-service locations. A franchisee runs a pizza shop managing the kitchen, delivery drivers, and order fulfillment.
Marco's Pizza net unit count grew 11.6% over 2021–2023 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. Most numbers on this page come from that document; others come from federal SBA loan records and labor and census data, each labelled with its source:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened, transferred and left the system, the main basis for our verdict, which rates how strong the disclosed record is, or says when the system is too new, the filing too old, or the disclosure too thin to judge.
Our rating · opinion
Strong disclosed record
Enough units and history to judge, and the operating record is good. Units grew 12% (2021–2023: 1,001 → 1,117); the fiscal 2023 exit rate was 2.6%, below the 4.1% median across 11 comparable systems (pizza). SBA loans to its franchisees approved FY1992–2020 charged off less often than franchise loans of the same years (20 vs about 29 expected, 0.7×).
Exit rate · fiscal 2023
2.6%
vs 4.1% median across 11 comparable systems (pizza)
Cost to open
$286K–$805K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan losses · vs same-year loans
0.7×
20 of 262 charged off vs ~29 expected
Market density · Texas
Typical density
7% thinner than the national average
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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from Marco's Pizza's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2024, extracted 2026-06-18) and SBA FOIA loan records (through FY2026), extracted by us and possibly containing errors. The rating is our opinion, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Franchisor or owner and see something wrong? Report a correction — we review every request.
What each source says
FDD record · SBA loans · model · auditor
The sources broadly agree, and the verdict follows the FDD's operating record.
FDD record · Item 20
Strong operating record
Units grew 12% (2021–2023: 1,001 → 1,117); exit rate 2.6% (fiscal 2023) vs 4.1% median.
SBA loans · vs same-year loans
Fewer defaults than expected (0.7×)
20 charge-offs among 262 resolved loans approved FY1992–2020; about 29 expected.
Modeled risk
Lower risk
Directional only — too few seasoned loans to check it.
Auditor opinion · Item 21
Not extracted
We did not extract the audit opinion.
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict
Systemwide units
2021–2023
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2023, 27 of 1,022 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 2.6% (fiscal 2023), vs a 4.1% median across 11 comparable systems (pizza). An exit is not a failure: this counts terminations, non-renewals and "ceased — other reasons" as reported, and excludes transfers to new owners.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 954 | 1,001 | 1,066 |
| Opened | 66 | 85 | 85 |
| Transfers | 85 | 111 | 76 |
| Terminations | 9 | 16 | 19 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 9 | 3 | 8 |
| Outlets at end | 1,001 | 1,066 | 1,117 |
| Net change | +47 | +65 | +51 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan outcomes · compared with franchise loans of the same years
Banks have made 513 SBA-backed loans to Marco's Pizza franchisees since 1992. Of the 262 approved FY1992–2020 that have resolved, 20 charged off — where about 29 would be expected for franchise loans made in the same years. That is 0.7× the expected rate: these loans defaulted less often than comparable franchise loans.
All-time, 23 of 290 resolved loans charged off (7.9%). That raw figure mixes every approval year since 1992 — loans made in 2006–08 failed at several times the rate of loans made in 2010–13 across all franchises — so it is shown as evidence, not as the score. 43% of the brand's loans have not resolved yet.
0.7×
20 of 262 resolved (FY1992–2020) vs ~29 expected
7.9%
23 of 290 resolved, every approval year
63.3%
charged-off $ ÷ approved $, defaulted loans
$426,575
what recent franchisees borrowed
54 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
50 vs 60
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%) · dashed line = all franchise loans that year
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO MARCO'S PIZZA BY SBA FRANCHISE NAME/CODE · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL · EXPECTED = SAME-YEAR RATE ACROSS ALL SBA FRANCHISE LOANS, LOANS ≥ ~6 YEARS OLD
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $25,000 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $286K–$805K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$286K–$805K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$25,000
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
5.5%
of sales, ongoing
Starts at a placeholder of $900K — a round figure for the sector, not from Marco's Pizza’s filings. Set your own figure and check it against this brand's Item 19 and what owners tell you.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$50K
5.5% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$495K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This estimate is computed by software from the brand's public filings and any inputs you enter. No CPA prepared it for you and no assurance is provided on it. Actual results will differ, and the differences may be material.
This is not profit. It covers what the FDD fixes: what you put in, and the royalty you owe on sales. Your take-home depends on food and packaging cost, labor, rent, and the months to breakeven, none of which the FDD fixes for your unit (some Item 19s include cost data — read it).
Build a real pro-forma for Marco's Pizza with a buyer-paid CPAHow the earnings claim is built
FDD ITEM 19 · BASIS · 2024 FDD
The headline figure is Average Net Royalty Sales for FY2023 (52 weeks ended Dec 31, 2023), for 894 of 1,076 units, leaving out international locations incl. Puerto Rico, new stores not open the entire 52 weeks, special venue locations and others. The mean is 6% above the median, so a minority of high-volume units pulls the average up. It shows no costs, so it says nothing about what an owner keeps.
Graded on three things the filing states: coverage (2 points if the figure covers at least 75% of the units it is compared with, 1 point for 50–75%), centre (2 points if it prints both a median and a mean, 1 for one of them), and costs (2 points for costs through a profit line or full cost detail, 1 for some cost items). 5–6 points = More complete, 3–4 = Partial, 0–2 = Limited. The grade describes the disclosure, not the business.
Show the basis ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| What is measured | Average Net Royalty Sales (net sales) |
| Period | FY2023 (52 weeks ended Dec 31, 2023) |
| Whose results | Franchised outlets |
| Units included | 894 of 1,076 Marco's Pizza Franchised Stores at Dec 31, 2023 |
| Left out |
|
| Average (mean) | $950K |
| Median | $896K |
| Mean vs median | mean 6.1% above median |
| Met or beat the average | 392 (44%) |
| Costs shown | None — sales only |
| Where | p. 87 (Item 19 runs pp. 86–90) |
| The filing's words | “historical data of the Net Royalty Sales of 894 Marco's Pizza Franchised Stores that were open during 52-weeks of the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023” |
Modeled risk
FDD Risk Score · a prediction from disclosure and loan-file features
The model puts this brand in its lower-risk band — but this brand has too few seasoned SBA loans to check the score against, so read it as a band, not a number.
Observed · vs same-year loans
0.7×
20 of 262 seasoned loans charged off
Risk percentile
Lower risk
Directional · no point estimate
Modeled · vs same-year loans
band only
too few seasoned loans to check
Top drivers: System size (log units) (lowers) · Share financed by high-loss lenders (lowers) · Item 20 exit rate (lowers) · Share of buyers who are first-time operators (lowers). Too few seasoned SBA loans to check the score — read it as a band. A linear scorecard trained on brands' vintage-adjusted SBA loss records; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Public records
Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored
We have no verified public-record signals published for Marco's Pizza. This is not evidence that no events exist. Check PACER, the FDD's Item 3 (litigation) and Item 4 (bankruptcy), and recent news yourself.
10 questions to ask a Marco's Pizza franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These questions come from what Marco's Pizza has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.
- 01
Marco's Pizza’s own Item 20 shows 27 of 1,022 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2023 — about 2.6%. Do you know any of those owners, and do you know why they left?
A franchisor will call these “transitions.” An owner three doors down usually knows whether they sold at a profit or handed the keys back.
FDD Item 20 · FY2023
- 02
76 units transferred to new owners in fiscal 2023. When you look at those, were they people cashing out a good business — or getting out of a bad one?
Item 20 counts transfers as neutral, but a transfer can be a good sale or a reluctant exit — the filing does not say which.
FDD Item 20 · FY2023
- 03
SBA loans to Marco's Pizza franchisees approved 1992–2020 defaulted less often than franchise loans made in the same years: 20 charge-offs among 262 resolved loans, where about 29 would be expected (0.7×). Did you finance with an SBA loan, and how close did your first two years come to trouble?
This is the lender's view of how these loans ended, from public federal records matched by SBA franchise code — independent of anything the franchisor discloses — compared with franchise loans made in the same years. A charge-off is a loan outcome, not proof the business closed.
SBA 7(a)/504 loan record, seasoned loans FY1992–FY2020 · 0.7× of same-vintage franchise loans
- 04
Item 7 says the low end to open is $286K; the average recent SBA loan to Marco's Pizza franchisees was $427K. What did you actually spend to open, all in — and did your loan cover anything beyond the build-out?
Lenders size loans to the project they finance. If owners say they spent near the loan figure rather than the Item 7 floor, budget from what they spent.
FDD Item 7 vs SBA approvals FY2020+
- 05
You pay 5.5% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?
Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.
FDD Item 6
- 06
Marco's Pizza makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?
Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.
FDD Item 19 · 2024
- 07
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 08
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 09
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 10
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if Marco's Pizza’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.
A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing Marco's Pizza’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Franchisors: send corrections with the page reference and we will review them against the filing and update or annotate the page. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
Marco's Pizza franchise questions, answered from the filings
How many Marco's Pizza franchised outlets left the system last year?
In Marco's Pizza's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2023), 27 of 1,022 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 2.6% — compared with a 4.1% median across 11 comparable systems (pizza) tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons" as the franchisor reported them; it excludes transfers to new owners. The FDD does not say why each outlet left, and an exit is not the same as a failure.
How much does a Marco's Pizza franchise cost?
Per Marco's Pizza's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $25,000 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $286K–$805K (Item 7).
What royalty does Marco's Pizza charge?
Marco's Pizza charges an ongoing royalty of 5.5% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2024 FDD.
Does Marco's Pizza disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Marco's Pizza makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2024 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.
How often do SBA loans for Marco's Pizza franchises default?
SBA loans to Marco's Pizza franchisees approved 1992–2020 defaulted less often than franchise loans made in the same years: 20 charge-offs among 262 resolved loans, where about 29 would be expected (0.7×). All-time, 23 of 290 resolved loans since 1992 charged off (7.9%); that raw figure mixes every approval year, so we compare with same-year loans instead. A charge-off is a loan loss, not proof the business closed. Source: public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data.