Cold Stone Creamery Franchise Failure Rate
SBA 7(a) loan default data, FY2010–FY2019 · Updated 2026
Cold Stone Creamery franchisees defaulted on 2.0% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 2 of 102 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is lower than the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars industry average of 10.1%.
- 2.0%SBA default rate2 of 102 loans
- 102loans resolvedapproved FY2010–FY2019
- 10.1%Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars averageall SBA loans in the industry
- 5th lowestindustry rankof 20 Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars brands
| SBA default rate | 2.0% |
|---|---|
| Loans approved | 102 |
| Loans charged off | 2 |
| Date range | FY2010–FY2019 |
| Industry | Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
| Industry average | 10.1% |
| Data source | U.S. SBA 7(a) FOIA loan data |
Most SBA default figures published online use loans approved since 2020 — loans that have had six years or less to fail — so those rates are floors, not outcomes. Every rate on this site is computed from the matured FY2010–FY2019 cohort: loans that have been paid in full or charged off, so the result is settled. Loans approved since 2020 are shown as counts so early charge-offs are visible without being mistaken for a rate.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
About 1 in 50 Cold Stone Creamery SBA borrowers failed to repay — well below the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars average of 10.1%.
What is the Cold Stone Creamery franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Cold Stone Creamery is a Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Cold Stone Creamery franchisees: 102 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 2 were charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019102
- Charged off2
- Charge-off rate2.0%
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchise benchmark10.1%
- Brand vs industry0.2x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$171,088
- New SBA loans since 2020183
- Early charge-offs since 20201
How does Cold Stone Creamery compare with other Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchises?
The table sets Cold Stone Creamery's charge-off rate beside its Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | Cold Stone Creamery | Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 2.0% | 10.1% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 102 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 2 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $171,088 | — | — | — |
What has Cold Stone Creamery SBA lending looked like since 2020?
Since 2020, Cold Stone Creamery franchisees have taken 183 new SBA 7(a) loans. 1 has already charged off. Early defaults on loans under six years old are worth noting. Most SBA failures take longer to develop.
Loans approved since 2020, by fiscal year — counts only: 1 has charged off to date and most are still outstanding, so no rate is drawn.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 17 | 1 | 5.9% |
| FY2011 | 9 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2012 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2013 | 6 | 1 | 16.7% |
| FY2014 | 10 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 17 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2016 | 21 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2017 | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2018 | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2019 | 9 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2020 | 17 | — | outstanding |
| FY2021 | 25 | — | outstanding |
| FY2022 | 34 | — | outstanding |
| FY2023 | 26 | — | outstanding |
| FY2024 | 23 | — | outstanding |
| FY2025 | 35 | — | outstanding |
| FY2026 | 23 | — | outstanding |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
Cold Stone Creamery's figure rests on 102 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019. That cohort has matured, so the rate is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 102 resolved loans, the sample is large enough that a single default barely moves the figure. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every Cold Stone Creamery figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Is Cold Stone Creamery in financial trouble? What the SBA data shows
Cold Stone Creamery's SBA 7(a) default rate was 2.0% for loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (2 of 102 loans charged off) — 5th lowest of 20 Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars brands tracked here. A default rate this far below the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars average of 10.1% is not, on its own, a sign of distress.
Frequently asked
- What is Cold Stone Creamery's franchise failure rate?
- Cold Stone Creamery franchisees defaulted on 2.0% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 2 of 102 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is lower than the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars industry average of 10.1%.
- How does Cold Stone Creamery compare to other Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchises?
- Cold Stone Creamery's 2.0% SBA default rate is lower than the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars industry average of 10.1%. See every Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchise ranked on the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars industry page. Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchises →
- What does 'SBA default rate' mean?
- An SBA default rate is the share of SBA 7(a) loans, approved FY2010–FY2019 and since resolved (paid in full or charged off), that were charged off — written off after the borrower failed to repay. It is not a measure of unit closures.
Source
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program charge-off data, FY2010–FY2019. Franchise data is matched on the SBA's franchise code / brand name. "Failure rate" here means the share of approved loans (resolved: paid in full or charged off) that were charged off; it is not a measure of unit closures. Last updated September 30, 2026.
Every brand in one table, with percentiles and breakdowns by year, industry and loan size: franchise SBA default rates, all 415 brands.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Cold Stone Creamery franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 2.0% (2 of 102 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/cold-stone-creamery/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)