DURHAM, N.H.—The University of New Hampshire’s franchising sector-focused RIFC 50 Index™ ended the year with a strong performance, adding 11.6% to its market value in the last quarter of 2021. This performance confirms the solid recovery of the franchise sector despite the fast spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19. Developed and published by UNH’s Rosenberg International Franchise Center (RIFC), the RIFC 50 Index is the first stock index to track the financial market performance of the U.S. franchising sector.

“Overall, the U.S. and global economies staged strong recoveries in 2021, fueled by the widespread deployment of vaccines, stimulative fiscal policies and expansionary monetary policies that have drastically expanded money supply and have kept the cost of capital very low with interest rates near zero,” said E. Hachemi Aliouche, director of the RIFC and developer of the RIFC 50 Index.

Reflecting these improved economic and health conditions as well as stronger corporate earnings growth, the S&P 500 returned a solid 26.9%, while the RIFC 50 Index had an even stronger return of 30% in 2021. The U.S. franchise sector, as reflected by the RIFC 50 Index, grew faster than most U.S. economic sectors, as reflected by the S&P 500 Index and the other major market indices.

Among components of the RIFC 50 Index, Avis Budget Group (+350%), BBQ Holdings (+267%) and Joint Chiropractic (+157%) generated the most increases in their shareholder values in 2021.

“2021 was still challenging for most businesses, including franchise businesses,” said Aliouche. “The fast spread of the new omicron variant, widespread labor shortages, higher wage costs, supply chain disruptions and accelerating inflation were tough challenges businesses had to face.”

The RIFC 50 Index is up 30% over the last 12 months, up 84.9% over the last five years, up 139.2% the last 10 years and up 442.2 % since its inception in 2000. To learn more about RIFC and their franchise indices, visit paulcollege.unh.edu/Rosenberg and follow @RIFC_UNH on Twitter.

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