DURHAM, N.H.  — The RIFC 50 Index gained 6.7% this quarter with broad contributions across most franchise sectors as 32 of the 50 components made positive gains. The Index has now soared 61.1% from its 2020 level when it was heavily hit because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The 11.5% gain year-to-date confirms the strong recovery of the franchising business sector,” said E. Hachemi Aliouche, director of the Rosenberg International Franchise Center at UNH’s Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, and the developer of the RIFC 50 Index.

The Aaron Company, a leader in the lease ownership business sector, had the best performance this quarter, jumping 45.8% in market value, driven by better than expected financial and operational results. On the other hand, fitness operator and franchisor F45 Training Holdings continues to struggle, losing another 56.9% in market value this quarter after repeatedly missing financial expectations.

The RIFC 50 Index is up 6.5% this quarter, 11.5% YTD and 21.5% over the last 12 months. It is up 49.8% and 105.7% over the last 5 years and 10 years respectively, and up 434.7% since its inception in 2000. “The RIFC 50 Index significantly outperformed the S&P 500 Index over the last 3 years when the Covid pandemic was widespread, signalling that the franchise business sector may be more resilient than most other sectors of the US economy” said Aliouche. However, more recently, the outsize performance of the mega-cap technology companies such as Apple and Nvidia has pushed the S&P 500 Index ahead.

Developed and published by UNH’s Rosenberg International Franchise Center (RIFC), the RIFC 50 Index is the first stock index to track the financial market performance of the U.S. franchising sector. To learn more about RIFC and their franchise indices, visit paulcollege.unh.edu/Rosenberg and follow @RIFC_UNH on Twitter.

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PHOTOS FOR DOWNLOAD:
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RIFC 50 Index and S&P 500 Index™: Total Returns

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Rosenberg International Franchise Center 50 Index (2000 – 2023)