Subway’s brand value rose 18% to $9.52 billion in Brand Finance’s 2026 restaurant ranking (still #4 globally), even after a decade of U.S. store contraction from a 2015 peak above 44,000 locations down to 18,773 by end-2025.
The 2024 Roark Capital acquisition at roughly $9.55–9.6 billion captured the brand’s remaining scale (~37,000 global units and $16 billion system sales) plus recent same-store sales gains and international master-franchise pipeline, offsetting low U.S. average unit volumes near $500,000 and ongoing net closures.
The franchise-model problems highlighted in the shared video (oversaturation and thin operator economics) reduced U.S. footprint by more than 8,000 stores since 2016, yet brand valuation has recovered from earlier stagnation through digital sales, menu refresh, and overseas growth rather than collapsing with unit count.
