This is an independent manager-run scenario for one mature U.S. Grease Monkey Center, with a base case near $70,000. It starts with a same-brand, FDD-derived weighted-average EBITDAR of $214,009 and subtracts a modeled annual rent proxy. It is pre-tax and before financing interest, financing principal, depreciation, amortization, and capital expenditures.
The $34,000-$118,000 range is not an Item 19 financial performance representation by Grease Monkey Franchising, LLC. It combines identified 2026 FDD facts with explicitly labeled rent-proxy assumptions. Actual results can differ materially by location, center format, Net Sales, labor, lease structure, financing, owner involvement, capital spending, and execution.
Legal franchisor: Grease Monkey Franchising, LLC. FDD: issued April 7, 2026. Item 19 status: official 2025 Net Sales, Gross Profit, expense, and EBITDAR results for 174 qualifying franchisee-owned U.S. Centers. Population: Centers open more than one year, operating for all of 2025, and providing complete profit-and-loss statements. Evidence mode: Mode A official earnings disclosure supporting a derived rent-proxy scenario. External benchmarks: none used for the earnings calculation. Confidence: Moderate because the core operating evidence is same-brand and current, but the owner-earnings range requires a site-rent assumption and excludes financing and capital spending. Date checked: July 15, 2026. A matching public official 2026 FDD link was not verified, so FDD references are cited by year, Item, and page.
Weighted-average EBITDAR
Before occupancy, interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and owner compensation or draws.
Weighted-average Net Sales
Calculated from the five Item 19 sales bands and their disclosed Center counts.
Weighted EBITDAR margin
A pre-occupancy margin, not a net-profit or owner take-home margin.
Item 19 sample coverage
74.7% of U.S. franchised Centers at December 31, 2025 were represented.
Required royalty and advertising burden
6.0% royalty, 0.5% fund contribution, and 4.0% local advertising commitment; Item 19 expenses already include these categories.
What does the 2026 Grease Monkey FDD actually report?
The official measure is EBITDAR, not owner earnings. For calendar year 2025, average EBITDAR ranged from $16,692 in the lowest Net Sales band to $398,698 in the highest band. EBITDAR excludes occupancy costs, interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, owner compensation, owner draws, and specified non-operating items. The FDD explicitly says it is not an actual amount earned. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 19, pp. 48-52.
Official average EBITDAR for franchisee-owned U.S. Centers in each Item 19 category.
Interpretation: Higher-sales bands reported materially higher average EBITDAR, but the measure still excludes occupancy and financing. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 19, Chart I, pp. 48-49.
| 2025 Net Sales category | Centers | Average Net Sales | Average EBITDAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| A: $600,000 or less | 32 | $438,063 | $16,692 |
| B: $600,001-$800,000 | 24 | $709,978 | $134,312 |
| C: $800,001-$1,000,000 | 34 | $900,152 | $166,351 |
| D: $1,000,001-$1,200,000 | 30 | $1,092,349 | $209,808 |
| E: More than $1,200,000 | 54 | $1,693,209 | $398,698 |
Net Sales are customer revenue. Gross Profit subtracts only inventory items such as oil, filters, greases, and fluids. EBITDAR goes further by subtracting salaries, wages and benefits, Retail Operating Expenses, and Office and G&A Expenses, but it still leaves out occupancy and financing. None of these measures is after-tax take-home pay.
What is a reasonable annual owner-earnings range after a rent proxy?
A defensible manager-run scenario is approximately $34,000 to $118,000 per year, with a $70,000 base case. This is a derived estimate for a mature Center, not an official Item 19 owner-income figure. It uses the weighted-average EBITDAR across all five disclosed categories and annualizes three rent assumptions inside the 2026 FDD's $6,000-$31,250 estimated monthly rent range for a three-bay Center.
Estimated pre-tax owner earnings before all financing costs and capital expenditures.
Interpretation: The rent proxy alone moves the modeled annual residual by $84,000 between the conservative and upside cases. Formula: $214,009 derived weighted-average EBITDAR minus annualized rent proxy. Calculations are rounded to the nearest $1,000 after using full-precision inputs. Sources: 2026 FDD, Item 19, pp. 48-52; Item 7, pp. 16-20.
| Scenario | EBITDAR anchor | Annual rent-proxy assumption | Estimated owner earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $214,009 | $180,000 | $34,000 |
| Base | $214,009 | $144,000 | $70,000 |
| Upside | $214,009 | $96,000 | $118,000 |
- Revenue and operating-cost anchor: the five Item 19 category averages are weighted by their disclosed Center counts. This produces $1,068,198 in derived average Net Sales and $214,009 in derived average EBITDAR.
- Rent-proxy assumption: $8,000, $12,000, or $15,000 per month. These are editorial scenario points inside the FDD's disclosed monthly rent range, not franchisor forecasts.
- Fee treatment: no second deduction is made for the 6.0% royalty, 0.5% Advertising Contribution, or 4.0% local advertising commitment because Item 19's Retail Operating Expenses already include royalty fees, Advertising Contributions, advertising, and sales promotions.
- Excluded from the result: financing interest, financing principal, depreciation, amortization, personal income taxes, capital expenditures, and any lease or other occupancy costs beyond the modeled rent proxy.
Why can rent and occupancy change the answer so sharply?
The FDD's EBITDAR measure excludes occupancy entirely, while Item 7 shows a very wide monthly rent range. At the same $214,009 EBITDAR anchor, annualized rent at the low end leaves about $142,000 before financing, while the high end produces an occupancy-adjusted deficit of about $161,000. This is a sensitivity test, not a prediction that the same sales level will occur at every rent level.
Estimated annual residual after rent; zero is shown as a vertical reference line.
Interpretation: The model turns negative near $17,834 in monthly rent, before interest, principal, and capital spending. That is a rent-only threshold, not a full business break-even calculation. Sources: derived from 2026 FDD, Item 19, pp. 48-52 and Item 7, pp. 16-20.
Item 19 covers 174 of 233 U.S. franchised Centers, or 74.7%. It excludes Centers opened during 2025, transferred during 2025, missing complete profit-and-loss statements, and affiliate-owned outlets. Five franchisee-owned Centers closed during 2025 and were outside the full-year reporting cohort. This makes the reported averages useful but not fully representative of every owner experience.
How does owner involvement change the economics?
A manager-run Center leaves the modeled residual to the owner; an owner-operated Center may create a larger total owner-operator benefit if the owner replaces a paid Manager. The FDD permits a Principal Owner not to participate directly, but then requires an approved Manager responsible for on-premises supervision. It also says the owner, Principal Owner, or Manager must devote full time and best efforts to the Center. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 15, pp. 41-42.
- Manager-run residual
- The $34,000-$118,000 scenario already starts from Item 19 payroll that includes managers. It is the modeled business residual before owner compensation, financing, taxes, and capital expenditures.
- Owner-operator benefit
- Manager-run residual plus the value of Manager compensation avoided when the owner performs that work. This is not pure business profit because part of it compensates the owner for labor.
- Why no precise uplift is shown
- Item 19 combines all salaries, wages, benefits, payroll taxes, workers' compensation, training, and payroll processing, including managers. It does not isolate one Manager's compensation, so a same-brand dollar uplift cannot be calculated without guessing.
- Passive-income implication
- The structure is not evidence of passive income. The FDD requires full-time operational management by the owner, Principal Owner, or approved Manager, and the official U.S. Grease Monkey franchise site says owners should be willing to remain engaged even when using a general manager.
What should a buyer verify before relying on this range?
The range is decision-useful only after replacing the rent-proxy assumptions with site-specific facts. The largest unresolved variables are occupancy, manager payroll, financing structure, and whether the proposed Center resembles the 174 mature reporting Centers.
- Request Item 19 written substantiation. Reproduce the category averages, outlet counts, exclusions, and EBITDAR definition from the underlying records.
- Obtain the actual lease economics. Confirm base rent, common-area maintenance, property taxes, insurance, maintenance obligations, escalators, free-rent periods, and build-to-suit terms.
- Separate Manager compensation. Ask franchisees for salary, bonus, benefits, payroll taxes, and coverage costs for a competent full-time Manager.
- Interview both current and former franchisees. Use Item 20 and Exhibits K-1 and K-2 to compare mature, transferred, and closed Centers, not only high-sales operators.
- Model financing separately. Subtract interest and principal from the operating result using the buyer's actual loan amount, rate, term, and amortization schedule.
- Budget recurring capital needs. Ask about equipment replacement, building repairs, technology upgrades, required remodels, and other cash expenditures not captured by EBITDAR.
What is the strongest defensible earnings takeaway?
The strongest defensible annual range is about $34,000-$118,000 for a manager-run mature Center, with a $70,000 base scenario. It is derived, not official owner-income disclosure. The strongest official evidence is 2025 EBITDAR by Net Sales band for 174 franchisee-owned U.S. Centers. Site occupancy economics—beginning with rent—are the most important modeled earnings driver, while the largest unresolved uncertainty is the interaction among site rent, Manager compensation, financing, and capital spending. Before committing, a buyer should verify the Item 19 substantiation, replace the rent-proxy assumptions with a signed lease model, and test the result through current and former franchisee interviews.