DURHAM, N.H.—The franchising sector, like most other business sectors, is attempting to recover from the double-digit losses sustained in the second quarter of 2022. This quarter, the University of New Hampshire’s RIFC 50 Index™, reflecting the performance of the U.S. franchising sector, lost “only” 2.6%, while the S&P 500 Index, reflecting the general U.S. financial markets, lost 5.3%. Twenty-one of the 50 components of the RIFC 50 Index made positive gains this quarter, a big improvement from last quarter when only one component made gains.

“High inflation, increasing interest rates, labor shortages and global conflicts continue to challenge most businesses, including franchised businesses,” said E. Hachemi Aliouche, director of the Rosenberg International Franchise Center at UNH’s Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, and developer of the RIFC 50 Index.

Most travel related components, like Hilton (+8.4%) and Hyatt (+9.5%) had robust performances this quarter, benefitting from the resurgence of leisure travel and tourism following the fading COVID pandemic. “Restaurant operator and franchisor Wingstop had the best performance this quarter, jumping 67.6%, boosted by a new successful menu and a strong financial outlook,” said Aliouche.

The RIFC 50 Index is down 21% year-to-date, and down 11.8% over the last 12 months. It is up 22.9% and up 82.3% over the last 5 years and 10 years respectively, and up 328.6% since its inception in 2000.

Developed and published by UNH’s Rosenberg International Franchise Center, 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 - 2022)