Industry-Leading Creditworthiness Rating from FRANdata Reinforces Marco's Performance in Accessible Franchise Ownership and Strong Lender Partnerships

TOLEDO, Ohio, Feb. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, has been recognized by FRANdata for its performance and lender friendliness, earning a 2025 FUND^® Score that ranks in the Top 10 of all evaluated franchise brands nationwide. The brand also received the highest FUND Score among all QSR concepts and is officially No. 1 in the pizza category, underscoring Marco's continued commitment in fostering accessible, sustainable franchise growth.

The FUND^® Score, FRANdata's proprietary franchise credit risk rating, assesses 13 key performance categories, including Historical Unit Success Rate™, unit-level profitability, system support, and financial transparency. Used by lenders overseeing more than $5 trillion in assets, the model informs loan decisions, terms, and capital reserves in franchise financing. Marco's strong results across these measures signal a highly creditworthy system and provide lenders with comprehensive information in making the determination to finance Marco's franchisees.

"In an increasingly crowded pizza marketplace, Marco's Pizza achieving a top-tier FUND^® Score — the highest among the pizza category — demonstrates the underlying strength of a system built for scalable, sustainable growth." said Edith Wiseman, President of FRANdata."Marco's Pizza's FUND^® Score is a strong indicator of its creditworthiness and system stability. This level of performance reflects consistent operational rigor and a model that supports long-term franchisee growth."

Marco's rank within the FUND scoring system reflects the brand's intentional approach to making franchise ownership more attainable. With over 1,200 units, the company invests significantly in franchisee support and financial guidance, cultivating strong relationships with preferred banks and lending institutions. Through quarterly lender meetings, Marco's finance team shares business updates, performance data, and growth plans, enabling lenders to offer competitive financing to both new and existing franchisees.

"Franchise ownership should open doors, not create obstacles," said Gerardo Flores, Chief Development Officer at Marco's Pizza. "This recognition highlights the top-tier support we offer to our franchise network and the relationships we've built with lenders. It's a testament to the strength of our brand in providing franchisees with financial options when working with banks to develop their stores. From the tools and training we offer to the financial guidance and resources we provide, everything we do is focused on making franchise ownership both achievable and rewarding."

Franchise Opportunities
To further support accessibility and franchise expansion, Marco's recently introduced the Franchise Development Royalty Incentive Program, designed to lower barriers for qualified multi-unit owners. With early-stage royalty incentives starting at 0%**, along with comprehensive support in real estate, construction, and operations, the program provides a streamlined, resource-rich path for franchisees to expand.

Prospects are taking note of the business opportunity, as Marco's Franchise Disclosure Document reports $1.3M AUV for the top 25% of franchised stores in 2024.* 

For more information Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or contact Brad Smith at bradsmith@marcos.com or 419-279-5795. 

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA  
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza brands in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,200 stores in 35 states with locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Mexico. Notably, Marco's was recognized as America's Favorite Restaurant in the Limited-Service Pizza category by Nation's Restaurant News using Technomic Ignite Consumer 2025 data^ꝉꝉ. Other recent accolades include being recognized by QSR as one of the "16 Best Franchise Deals for 2025", ranking No. 50 on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2026 "Franchise 500" ranking, earning a coveted spot as the only top 5 pizza chain to rank on Newsweek's 2025 "America's Best Customer Service" in pizza chains list, earning a spot on QSR's Top 50, and being featured on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 500" ranking.    

*Based on average sales volume of the top performing 25% (or 239 units) of Marco's Pizza Franchised Stores that were open during our 2024 fiscal year. Of the 955 Franchised Stores that were in operation for our entire 2024 fiscal year, 239 were included in the top 25% set and 40% obtained or surpassed the average sales volume. This information excludes (i) international locations (including Puerto Rico); (ii) Franchised Stores not open for the entire 52-week period in 2024; (iii) special venue and non-traditional franchised locations; and (iv) Franchised Stores that closed in 2024. See Item 19 of our 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document for additional information. Individual results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well. 

**The information provided in this article should not be construed as an offer to sell any Marco's Pizza^® franchises in, nor is any such communication directed to, the residents of any jurisdiction requiring registration of the franchise before it is offered and sold in that jurisdiction. Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Marco's Pizza^® franchises will not be sold to any resident of such jurisdiction until the offering has been exempted from the requirements of, or duly registered in and declared effective by, such jurisdiction and the required franchise disclosure document (if applicable) has been delivered to the prospective franchisee before the sale in compliance with applicable law. Additionally, the participant must meet our financial, creditworthiness, and operational criteria to qualify for the incentive program and be approved by us to open each Store. If the franchisee is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity, the qualifying participant must maintain at least 50% ownership in the entity, as well as the qualifying existing Stores, to qualify for this program, and the franchisee must comply with program requirements. In the event the participant fails at any time to meet the timelines to qualify for the applicable incentive program while developing a Store, the Store being developed and any remaining unopened Stores to be developed will pay the then-current standard Royalty Fee rate. See Marco's Franchising's Franchise Disclosure Document for more information. To qualify for the incentive program, the participant must sign a development agreement and open the stores within the following timeframes: 1^st Store within 365 days of signing; 2^nd Store within 6 months of 1^st store opening; 3^rd Store within 6 months of 2^nd store opening; 4^th Store within 6 months of 3^rd store opening; 5^th Store within 6 months of 4^th store opening.  

^ꝉꝉAccording to Technomic's 2025 America's Favorite Restaurants data, Marco's Pizza secured the top spot in the Limited-Service Pizza category with a 54.6% composite top-box rating, indicating the share of recent guests who gave the brand the highest possible rating for each of the guest experience attributes. Data for America's Favorite Chains comes from Technomic Ignite Consumer, which collects information about how brands impact consumers and how consumers interact with those brands, via online surveys. See here for more information: www.technomic.com/ignite-consumer. 

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SOURCE Marco's Pizza