Franchise Stock Index Finds Franchise Brands Strongly Recovering

A surge in the RIFC 50 Index indicates the franchising sector is continuing to recover from the quarterly losses suffered during the Covid pandemic of 2020, gaining 7.3% in the first quarter of 2021. The University of New Hampshire’s Rosenberg International Franchise Center (RIFC) is the first stock index to track the financial market performance of the US franchising sector.

“In the fourth quarter of 2020, 27 of the RIFC 50 Index’s 50 components ended the year with higher market values than at the beginning of 2020,” said Dr. 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. “This franchise sector trajectory continued in Q1 of 2021, with 38 of the index components gaining market value this quarter.”

The fast ramp-up of the US Covid-19 vaccination program and the prospect of an approaching reopening of the economy, particularly in travel and hospitality industries, fueled a surge in the values of most components of the Index. Sixteen of them grew their market values by more than 20%, with Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB), Avis Budget Group (CAR), and Joint Chiropractic (JYNT) gaining 108%, 95%, and 85.5%, respectively. 

“This strong performance by the RIFC 50 Index, outperforming the S&P 500 Index’s 5.8 % quarterly return, signals a powerful upsurge for the franchising sector in the near future,” said Aliouche. 

The RIFC 50 Index is up 57.8% over the last 12 months, up 40.8% over the last five years, up 97.1% over the last 10 years, and up 347.6% since its inception in 2000. 

You can learn more about RIFC and their franchise indices at https://www.unh.edu/rosenbergcenter/