IFA Launches New Franchise Research and Insights Center

Announces new franchise profitability report in partnership with ProfitKeeper; New center will provide exclusive real-time franchise research and insights available to franchisor and franchisee members

October 06, 2026 // Franchising.com // WASHINGTON – The International Franchise Association (IFA) today launched the Franchise Research and Insights Center, a new data and research center available exclusively to IFA franchisor and franchisee members to provide real-time data analysis on franchise performance, trends, and benchmarking. The center launch coincides with a new exclusive report provided for IFA from ProfitKeeper on franchise profitability – comparing profit margins among industries, regions, and system size that will be available each quarter.

“It should come as no surprise that franchise profitability remains strong, but this new industrywide data gives us an unmatched look at that performance,” said IFA President and CEO Matt Haller. “This research spotlights how franchise businesses create value for everyone involved. Consumers get valuable products or services at competitive prices. Franchise employees earn higher wages and better benefits than those at non-franchise businesses. And franchisees are seeing profit margins that let them reinvest in their teams and communities, helping their organizations grow.”

The concept for the Franchise Research and Insights Center was first announced at the IFA Annual Convention, in partnership with ProfitKeeper, Franconnect, FRANdata, and Franchise Business Review. The center is now available to IFA members, with existing research from the partner organizations, and the exclusive new report on franchise profitability from ProfitKeeper that provides financial benchmarking updated each quarter, including a look into labor costs, cost of goods, and operating expenses.

The new 2026 Q2 report from ProfitKeeper shows:

System-wide profit increased by 6.6% with a breakdown of performance by sector
Mid-sized operators with 6–15 units posted the strongest profit margin, at 11.9% of sales.
The West North Central region led the country in profitability, with a 13.1% profit margin.

"Franchise profitability is shaped by a range of factors, from labor and operating costs to business size and geography, and understanding those dynamics is critical for making better business decisions,” said Kyle McEuen, General Manager at ProfitKeeper, a CoAd affiliate. “Our partnership with IFA brings this financial data directly to franchise leaders, giving them the benchmarks and insights they need to better understand performance, identify opportunities, and build stronger businesses."

The full findings are available upon request or to IFA franchisor and franchisee members here.

In the coming months, IFA will announce new report offerings from each partner. All research will be interactive, searchable, and comparable through the IFA Franchise Research and Insights Center, with supplemental articles and learning tools available in the IFA Member Resource Hub.

Haller continued, “This game-changing resource will bring greater clarity to where franchising is today and where it’s headed next – helping our members make smarter decisions, strengthen confidence in the franchise model, and support the long-term growth of our business model.”

About the International Franchise Association

Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association (IFA) is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 832,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.8 million direct jobs, $907.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and almost 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.

About ProfitKeeper

ProfitKeeper, a CoAd affiliate, is a franchise analytics platform that helps franchisors and franchisees turn financial and operational data into actionable insights. The platform brings together financial, sales, royalty, point-of-sale and other business data to enable performance benchmarking, identify best practices, improve franchisee collaboration and drive profitability. More than 150 franchise brands across 29 countries rely on ProfitKeeper to better understand performance and strengthen their franchise systems. To learn more, visit profitkeeper.com.

SOURCE International Franchise Association

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