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PANDA EXPRESS
Citadel Panda Express, Inc. franchises licenses to qualified applicants to develop and operate Panda Express restaurants, which are limited-service outlets offering on-premises dining and carry-out of gourmet Chinese and other Asian food items, beverages, and related menu items. These restaurants primarily operate in captive venues such as military facilities, airports, campuses, hospitals, and universities, using the proprietary Panda Express System including specified recipes, procedures, design, and training. The business model involves charging an initial franchise fee and ongoing royalties while requiring adherence to system standards to maintain brand goodwill, targeting franchisees interested in high-traffic, non-traditional locations.
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Franchise Costs
8% royalty + $20-22/mo customer satisfaction surveys + $177/quarter inspections + $300-1,000/yr marketing materials
Financial Performance
Item 19 Financial Performance
Data Based On: Data for 167 licensed Panda Express Restaurants operating in captive venue locations (airports, military facilities, hospitals, universities, casinos, travel plazas) for the full fiscal year 2025. This sample includes units operating for a minimum of 52 weeks and excludes 11 units open less than a year, and 2 units in theme park/corporate campus locations.
* The financial performance figures provided only include gross sales data (Total Gross Sales, Average Gross Sales, Minimum Gross Sales, Median Gross Sales, Maximum Gross Sales). Profit-related metrics (gross profit, net income, net profit, EBITDA) and their corresponding margins, as well as ranges for estimated profit, cannot be calculated or estimated as the document explicitly states on page 4 that costs of sales and operating expenses are not reflected. Minimum Gross Sales and Maximum Gross Sales are used as proxies for the bottom and top performance ranges, respectively, in the absence of explicit quartile data.
Extracted Item 19 Section
Avg. Revenue: $1,715,919
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How PANDA EXPRESS Compares
Key Insights
- Higher than average SBA loan default rate in Fast Food
| Franchise | Investment | Fee | Royalty | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PANDA EXPRESS Current | $515K – $3.3M | $25K | 8.0% | 184 |
| MCDONALD'S | $1.5M – $2.6M | $45K | N/A | 12,772 |
| AFC | $45K – $151K | $6K | 9.5% | 3,572 |
| KFC (NON-TRADITIONAL) | $1.2M – $4.2M | $45K | N/A | 3,404 |
| SONIC DRIVE-IN | $1.5M – $2.5M | $15K | 5.0% | 3,120 |
| CHICK-FIL-A License Program | $586K – $3.4M | N/A | 10.0% | 2,795 |
Fast Food Average 131 franchises | $614K – $1.6M | $35K | 6.2% | – |
* Comparison based on latest FDD filings. Investment ranges from Item 7, fees from Item 5. Showing top 5 of 131 Fast Food franchises by location count.
Locations & Growth
Outlet Growth Over Time
Total outlets at end of each year
Geographic Distribution (2025)
Outlets by state across the United States
+23 more states
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SBA Loan History
Historical SBA 7(a) loan data for PANDA EXPRESS franchisees (2025 – 2025)
Loans by Year
SBA 7(a) loan activity over time
* Data sourced from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan records. Default rate calculated from charged-off loans.
1 SBA loans on record
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Franchisee Contacts
184 franchisee contacts on file from official FDD filings.
184 Contacts Available
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Due Diligence
Litigation (Item 3)
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
System Health (Item 20)
Franchise system changes reported in the most recent fiscal year
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Frequently Asked Questions
The total initial investment to open a PANDA EXPRESS franchise ranges from $514,500 to $3,275,500. This includes a franchise fee of $25,000. Ongoing royalty fees are 8.0% of gross sales.
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