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Ace Hardware announced it placed sixth on the Franchise Times Top 400, which ranks U.S.-based franchise systems by global systemwide sales. The company reported $24 billion in retail sales in 2025 and more than 1,100 store openings worldwide over five years; its cooperative structure differs from conventional franchises.
Ace Hardware ranked sixth on the 2026 Franchise Times Top 400, the company announced October 7, placing it among the largest U.S.-based franchise systems by global systemwide sales. Ace said it was the highest-ranked hardware brand on the list, after reporting $24 billion in retail sales in 2025.
The Franchise Times Top 400 evaluates franchise systems using global systemwide sales, according to the report published by Hardware Retailing. Ace ranked behind McDonald’s, 7-Eleven, KFC, Burger King and Chick-fil-A. The ranking is not a measure of profit, store-level performance or customer satisfaction; it compares sales across systems.
Ace said its stores generated $24 billion in retail sales during 2025. The company also reported opening more than 1,100 stores worldwide over the past five years. The source report does not give a year-by-year breakdown of those openings or specify how much of the sales figure came from outside the United States.
Although Ace appears on a franchise ranking, the company operates as a retailer-owned cooperative. Its store owners are shareholders and, according to the report, receive annual profits distributed as patronage dividends. Ace said it returned $392 million in patronage dividends in 2025 and that owners do not pay royalties or ongoing franchise fees.
What Ace’s Sixth Place Signals
The placement puts Ace near the top of a ranking dominated by major restaurant and convenience-store brands, giving a measure of the scale of its retail network. For readers, the sales figure and store openings provide an indication of the company’s reach, while the cooperative model explains why its relationship with store owners is not identical to a conventional franchise arrangement.
The reported $392 million in patronage dividends is also relevant to owners: Ace describes those payments as a return of annual profits to its shareholder-members. The available report does not detail how dividends are calculated or distributed among individual owners, so the figure should not be read as a per-store payment or as a measure of each owner’s earnings.
Ace Hardware tools and hardware supplies
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How Ace Fits the Franchise Ranking
The Franchise Times Top 400 is an annual ranking of large U.S.-based franchise systems, ordered by global systemwide sales. Ace’s sixth-place result reflects the ranking’s sales measure; it does not mean the publication assessed every aspect of the businesses listed or determined that they use identical ownership structures.
Ace’s cooperative arrangement is a key distinction. The Hardware Retailing report says participating store owners are shareholders, receive patronage dividends and pay no royalty or ongoing franchise fees. The list nevertheless includes Ace among franchise systems. The source does not explain the publication’s detailed methodology for classifying the cooperative or how it treats cooperative sales in its comparison.
“Ace is proud to once again be recognized by Franchise Times as one of the largest franchise systems in the world and the only hardware brand in the top 10 on this respected list.”
— Andy Schmitt, Ace Hardware vice president of retail operations and new business
Details Behind the Sales Ranking
The report does not provide the full Franchise Times table, Ace’s precise sales methodology or the figures for the other companies ranked above it. It also does not clarify whether Ace’s $24 billion in 2025 retail sales is identical in scope to the systemwide-sales measure used for the list, or how the ranking accounts for cooperative ownership.
The five-year store-opening figure is reported as a total, without a starting and ending date beyond the broad period, regional breakdown or information about closures. Ace’s announcement and the trade publication report do not provide independent verification of the company’s sales and dividend figures.
What to Watch in Future Rankings
The immediate development is the publication of Ace’s sixth-place result in the annual list. The source report does not identify a further announcement or a scheduled company event tied to the ranking. Readers seeking a fuller comparison can look to the Franchise Times list and its methodology for system-by-system sales figures and definitions.
Future rankings may show whether Ace’s reported store growth and sales continue, but no forecast is included in the available material. The next useful company disclosures would be updated sales, store-opening totals and patronage-dividend figures, alongside details on how those measures compare with earlier years.
Key Questions
What place did Ace Hardware earn on the Franchise Times Top 400?
Ace announced it ranked sixth on the list and was its highest-ranked hardware brand.
What does the Franchise Times Top 400 measure?
The report describes it as an annual ranking of U.S.-based franchise systems by global systemwide sales. It is not presented as a ranking of profits or customer satisfaction.
How much did Ace Hardware report in 2025 retail sales?
Ace reported $24 billion in retail sales in 2025. The source does not provide a regional breakdown or explain whether this figure exactly matches the list’s systemwide-sales methodology.
Is Ace Hardware structured like a conventional franchise?
Not according to the report. Ace describes itself as a retailer-owned cooperative, with store owners as shareholders. It says owners receive patronage dividends and pay no royalty or ongoing franchise fees.
How many stores has Ace opened in recent years?
Ace said it opened more than 1,100 stores worldwide over the past five years. The report does not break that total down by year or region.
Source: rss
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