FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source

2026 FDD

Peet's Coffee

Coffee · parent company: not identified

Peet's Coffee is a specialty coffee chain known for dark-roasted coffee, espresso drinks, teas, and pastries. Cafés serve handcrafted beverages for in-store and to-go customers and sell whole-bean coffee. A franchisee operates a coffeehouse, managing baristas and daily café service.

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

Not enough disclosure

The latest FDD we hold has no usable Item 20 outlet history (or our extraction of it is low-confidence), so there is no operating record to judge.

Exit rate · fiscal 2025

No franchised base

no franchised outlets at the start of the year

Cost to open

$1.0M–$1.7M

Item 7 total investment range

SBA loan losses

No loan record

no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand

Email me when this brand’s record changes

A weekly check for new filings, changes to disclosed costs or earnings, SBA loan totals, and verified public-record events. Only changes to these 1 selected brand. No email when nothing changes. Coverage depends on when source data reaches our database.

Unsubscribe in any alert. We never sell your email.

Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from Peet's Coffee's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2026, extracted 2026-07-29) 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

Our answer: Not enough disclosure

Without a usable FDD there is no disclosed record to rate; any loan figures are context.

FDD record · Item 20

No usable Item 20

No outlet history to judge.

SBA loans · vs same-year loans

No SBA loans found

No 7(a)/504 loans matched to this brand.

Modeled risk

Not scored

Too little evidence for the model.

Auditor opinion · Item 21

Clean opinion

Unqualified audit, 2026 FDD. Says nothing about franchisee results.

Behind the verdict

the record, factor by factor · Item 20

hi-1.0.0
Net unit growth41%

latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1

Weak
Exit quality29%

terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3

Strong
Transfer / churn18%

transfers vs. base · Table 3

Fair
Promise-keeping12%

actual vs. projected openings · Table 5

Not Disc.
Transparencynot in verdict

Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict

Strong

Systemwide units

2021–2025

-9.7%
21720212032022202202319920241962025

Survival record

FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year

The franchisor reported no franchised outlets at the start of fiscal 2025, so there is no franchised exit rate to report; the outlet tables below show what it does operate.

Show the outlet tables ↓
Status (FTC)20212022202320242025
Outlets at start224217203202199
Opened00000
Transfers00000
Terminations00000
Non-renewals00000
Reacquired by franchisor00000
Ceased — other reasons00000
Outlets at end217203202199196
Net change-7-14-1-3-3

The franchisor's own finances

FDD ITEM 21 · AUDITED STATEMENTS · 2026 FDD

Full read →

Deloitte & Touche LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2026 FDD; it reported a net loss in every year shown (FY2024–FY2025).

This is the company selling the franchise, not any franchisee. A clean opinion means the statements are fairly presented — not that the business is healthy.

Audit opinion

Unmodified (clean) opinion

Deloitte & Touche LLP

Revenue · FY2025

$0

p. 185 · matched to statement

Net income · FY2025

−$189K

p. 185 · matched to statement

Where FY2025 revenue came from

Royalty share not extracted

initial-fee share not extracted

Show the statement figures ↓

What it costs — and what it drags

FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty

Buying in means a $35,000 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $1.0M–$1.7M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.

To open (Item 7)

$1.0M–$1.7M

all-in investment range

Franchise fee (Item 5)

$35,000

upfront, one-time

Royalty (Item 6)

6%

of sales, ongoing

If a unit does this in annual sales…$1.4M/yr

Starts at the Item 19 median of $1.4M from Peet's Coffee’s latest FDD. Read which units built that figure, then check it with current and former owners.

Royalty you'd pay / yr

$84K

6% of sales, before profit

Over a 10-yr term

$840K

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 Peet's Coffee with a buyer-paid CPA

How the earnings claim is built

FDD ITEM 19 · BASIS · 2026 FDD

This filing makes an Item 19 earnings claim; we have not yet read how it is built. Open Item 19 and check which units it covers, which it leaves out, and whether it shows costs.

Show the basis ↓

Public records

Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored

FULL REPORT →

7 questions to ask a Peet's Coffee 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 Peet's Coffee has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.

  1. 01

    The system went from 217 units to 196 over 5 disclosed years. What's the explanation you've been given, and do you believe it?

    A shrinking system means fewer owners funding the ad fund and support staff you're paying for.

    FDD Item 20 · FY2021–FY2025

  2. 02

    You pay 6.0% 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

  3. 03

    Peet's Coffee 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 · 2026

  4. 04

    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

  5. 05

    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

  6. 06

    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

  7. 07

    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 Peet's Coffee’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.

Before you sign anythingfree · 30 min · no commission

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 Peet's Coffee’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.

Don Drummond, CPA — Virginia #43775 · what I charge

Book a free 30-minute call →
Own or owned a Peet's Coffee — or represent the franchisor?no appointment · read by a person

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.

Peet's Coffee franchise questions, answered from the filings

How much does a Peet's Coffee franchise cost?

Per Peet's Coffee's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $35,000 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $1.0M–$1.7M (Item 7).

What royalty does Peet's Coffee charge?

Peet's Coffee charges an ongoing royalty of 6.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.

Does Peet's Coffee disclose earnings (Item 19)?

Yes — Peet's Coffee makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $1.4M. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.