SBA loan outcome check · franchise brand · SBA data as of 30 September 2026

How have SBA loans to Ace Hardware franchisees turned out?

Of 199 loans approved in fiscal 2005 to 2021 (at least five years old), 8 (4.0%) were charged off by the lender, against 15.5% across all 7(a) loans approved in those same years. Ace Hardware appears on 355 SBA-guaranteed 7(a) loans approved from fiscal 2005 to 2026, $350.6 million in gross approvals. These are loans, not a rating.

Not financial, legal or franchise advice. This page reports what the SBA's loan file records for SBA-guaranteed loans. A charge-off rate is not a rating of a brand or an industry, it does not predict a new loan, and a franchisee's loan is not a measure of the franchisor. Read the franchise's disclosure document and talk to a lender or an adviser before you borrow.

Ace HardwareFranchise brand · 355 loans

4%of seasoned loans charged off

Ace Hardware appears on 355 SBA-guaranteed 7(a) loans approved from fiscal 2005 to 2026, $350.6 million in gross approvals.
Of 199 loans approved in fiscal 2005 to 2021 (at least five years old), 8 (4.0%) were charged off by the lender, against 15.5% across all 7(a) loans approved in those same years.
A charge-off is a loan the lender wrote off. It is not a statement about the borrower, the brand or the franchisor, and it does not predict how a new loan will turn out.

share of this group's loans charged off, by approval year (years with 10+ loans)all 7(a) loans, same year

Every approval year

Approval year	Loans	Approved	Paid in full	Charged off	Not yet resolved	Charged-off share
FY2005	1	$1.5 million	0	0	1	few loans
FY2012	1	$807,000	1	0	0	few loans
FY2014	1	$1.4 million	1	0	0	few loans
FY2015	2	$1.0 million	1	1	0	few loans
FY2016	2	$3.6 million	0	2	0	few loans
FY2017	3	$3.7 million	3	0	0	few loans
FY2018	29	$17.8 million	20	4	5	13.8%
FY2019	29	$25.3 million	20	0	9	0.0%
FY2020	52	$47.0 million	24	0	28	0.0%
FY2021	79	$82.5 million	21	1	57	1.3%
FY2022	51	$41.1 million	11	0	40	too recent for a share
FY2023	34	$36.3 million	4	0	30	too recent for a share
FY2024	10	$7.1 million	2	0	8	too recent for a share
FY2025	25	$33.6 million	0	0	25	too recent for a share
FY2026	36	$48.0 million	0	0	36	too recent for a share

US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA loan data as of 30 September 2026. SBA-guaranteed 7(a) loans only, aggregated; no borrower or lender is shown. SBA open data.

Where can you go from this record?

Open it in the check to search another brand or industry. Before you borrow for a franchise, read the FTC consumer guide to buying a franchise, the SBA guide to buying a franchise and SBA Lender Match.

Compiled and checked by Vincent Wesley Couey (ORCID 0009-0005-6869-308X) from the SBA 7(a) FOIA loan data, as of 30 September 2026. Not an official source.