I have a friend that owns several Subway franchises.
She says that it is impossible to make any money owning just one. At two she cleared about $25K a year. With three she makes about $50K.
A lot has to do with the inventory you are forced to purchase and how much you pay for it. She can shift supplies and food from store to store to make it work, but even then she still has to hit up a supermarket now and then for basics she runs out of and can’t get replacements in time. Supposedly if she is caught doing this she could have her franchise yanked.
My wife and sister both looked into getting a Subway franchise at different times. Thankfully they both had a stroke of sanity before doing so!
That’s pretty typical of franchise life. Most companies in that model give you bad spots for your first few stores, mid-range volume with low profitability. They like the crucible, stick it out the tough way, earn your chops, buy more franchises, eventually they give you good locations that will have high profit margins. They save those for the loyal ones with double digits stores.