Size and presence

Openings of establishments in the CNAE class of franchisors reach 1,500 in 2025, 4.6 times the 2010 figure

Establishments opened in 2025 with CNAE class 77.40-3, where the classification places the sale and licensing of franchises, as their primary activity

Calculated on November 8, 2026 · 10,415 active establishments in class 77.40-3, 2010 to 2025

1,500establishments opened in the CNAE class of franchisors in 2025, 4.6 times those of 2010

Openings of establishments in the CNAE class of franchisors reach 1,500 in 2025, 4.6 times the 2010 figureestablishments

Openings in class 77.40-3Deregistrations in class 77.40-3Openings of companies with franchising in the legal name

325Openings in the class in 2010

561Deregistrations in the class in 2025

10,415Establishments currently active in class 77.40-3

5,755Active companies with franchising in the legal name

35.9%Active establishments of the class headquartered in the state of São Paulo

See the full table (16 rows)

Year	Openings in class 77.40-3	Deregistrations in class 77.40-3	Openings per deregistration	Companies opened with franchising in the legal name	Deregistrations of these companies
2025	1,500	561	2.67	873	388
2024	1,501	514	2.92	858	358
2023	1,365	510	2.68	824	263
2022	1,459	410	3.56	835	227
2021	1,214	333	3.65	724	213
2020	948	283	3.35	527	200
2019	1,017	266	3.82	519	155
2018	805	196	4.11	498	131
2017	722	161	4.48	388	128
2016	545	134	4.07	339	115
2015	537	121	4.44	390	137
2014	563	71	7.93	379	52
2013	454	53	8.57	291	47
2012	403	42	9.60	245	27
2011	376	37	10.16	232	25
2010	325	35	9.29	207	22

The CNPJ (Brazilian company registry) records the opening date and, where applicable, the deregistration date of each establishment, including those that have already ceased operations. With these dates, the indicator tracks class 77.40-3 of the CNAE (national classification of economic activities), management of non-financial intangible assets, where the classification places the sale and licensing of franchises, and a second subset, that of the companies whose legal name declares them to be franchisors.

Openings in the class went from 325 in 2010 to 1,500 in 2025, after a peak of 1,501 in 2024. The pace accelerated from 2019, when the number exceeded a thousand for the first time (1,017), and again in 2021 (1,214). Deregistrations grew faster, from 35 to 561, and the ratio of openings to deregistrations fell from 9.3 to 2.7. There are currently 10,415 active establishments in the class.

Among the companies that declare themselves franchisors in their legal name, openings went from 207 in 2010 to 873 in 2025, and 5,755 are active. The two subsets partly overlap, because many franchisors do not use class 77.40-3 as their primary activity, as shown in the franchisor profile, and the number of local units of the class in the Cadastro Central de Empresas serves as a reference for the stock.

How we calculate

We read all establishments in the open CNPJ data of Receita Federal (the federal tax authority), reference month October 2026, in any registration status. An opening is an establishment whose start-of-activity date falls in the year, and a deregistration is an establishment in deregistered status whose status date falls in the year. The first subset comprises establishments, head office or branch, with class 77.40-3 as their primary activity. The second comprises the head offices of companies whose legal name contains FRANCHISING, FRANCHISE, FRANCHISOR, FRANQUIA or FRANQUEADORA, excluding sole proprietors and individual microentrepreneurs (MEI), whose name includes that of a person. The year 2026 is left out because the reference month covers only part of it.

Calculated on November 8, 2026. Method version 1.0. Sample: 10,415 active establishments in class 77.40-3, 2010 to 2025.

What this figure does not show

Class 77.40-3 also covers the licensing of other brands and intangible assets, and not every establishment in it is a franchisor.
Some franchisors register another primary activity and are left out of the first subset, and some do not declare franchising in their legal name and are left out of the second.
The opening date is that of the establishment, which may have been created before it began franchising, and a corporate reorganization may generate an opening and a deregistration without a change in operations.
Establishments deregistered many years ago may have incomplete records, which weighs more at the beginning of the series.

Frequently asked questions

How many franchisors are opened each year in Brazil?

In 2025, 1,500 establishments were opened with CNAE (national classification of economic activities) class 77.40-3, where the classification places the sale of franchises, as their primary activity, as well as 873 companies with franchising in their legal name. The class also covers the licensing of other assets.

Is the number of franchisors growing?

Openings in the CNAE (national classification of economic activities) class of franchisors went from 325 in 2010 to 1,500 in 2025. Deregistrations also rose, from 35 to 561, and there are currently 10,415 active establishments in the class.

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Size and presenceOther indicators in the same group

2.37% Franchise revenue equals 2.37% of nominal GDP in 2025 9,282 The CNAE class of franchisors has 9,282 local units in 2024 48.4% Fewer than half of franchisors have the CNAE class of franchisors as their primary activity 5.2 CNAE class of franchisors pays an average wage of 5.2 minimum wages, almost double that of all companies

All indicators

Maintained by Marktech, which serves franchise networks and franchises. The brands cited belong to their owners and are mentioned here only to identify the network the data refers to.