Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory — SBA financing may be unavailable; verify with your lender
IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES
Food & Dining · independent · est. —
IHOP (International House of Pancakes) is a family-restaurant chain best known for pancakes and all-day breakfast, plus lunch and dinner; this is its traditional full-service restaurant program. A franchisee operates a standalone IHOP, managing kitchen, servers, and dine-in guests.
IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES net unit count grew +0.2% from 2021–2025 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. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- 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 and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Proven & steady
Distress
The operating record is solid, but the FDD discloses a bankruptcy history (Item 4) — capped below a full endorsement. The main concern in the record: the system is shrinking.
Exit rate · latest year
2.9%
vs 8.6% across 137 food & dining systems
Cost to open
$617K–$4.8M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
No loan record
no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · 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
Systemwide units
2021–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 48 of 1,655 franchised outlets left the system — a 2.9% annualized exit rate, vs 8.6% across 137 food & dining systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 1,657 | 1,637 | 1,646 | 1,658 | 1,655 |
| Opened | 30 | 26 | 35 | 25 | 33 |
| Transfers | 146 | 37 | 53 | 46 | 69 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 3 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 9 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 45 | 10 | 20 | 17 | 39 |
| Outlets at end | 1,638 | 1,646 | 1,658 | 1,655 | 1,642 |
| Net change | -19 | +9 | +12 | -3 | -13 |
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $50K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $617K–$4.8M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$617K–$4.8M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$50K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
4.5%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$45K
4.5% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$450K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES with an independent CPALabor record
US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present
Federal investigators have concluded 3 wage cases against operators of this system, recovering $16K in back wages for 33 workers. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.
Concluded cases
3
Back wages owed
$16K
Employees affected
33
Since 2020
0
Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2012.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES franchises closed last year?
In IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 48 of 1,655 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 2.9% — compared with 8.6% across 137 food & dining systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES franchise cost?
Per IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $50K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $617K–$4.8M (Item 7).
What royalty does IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES charge?
IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES charges an ongoing royalty of 4.5% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.