Jersey Mike’s S-1 Breakdown: How a $4.2B Sandwich Machine Works

On this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down Jersey Mike’s S-1 and the franchise machine behind more than $4 billion in sandwich sales. He explains how an asset-light royalty model works, why franchise economics can be so powerful, what Blackstone saw in the business, and what the filing reveals about growth, margins, and the real money behind the subs.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.comPulley is an equity management platform that lets you issue options, model dilution, and complete 409As without your cap table turning into a spreadsheet disaster. Founders raising, hiring, and scaling use Pulley to keep equity clean and stay focused on building. Learn more or request a demo at Pulley.com/mostlymetricsRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjMaximor is an autonomous finance platform that runs order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, the close, cash management, and reporting on self-learning agents instead of a dozen disconnected tools. One PE-backed customer cut their close in half, took audit findings from seven to zero, and cut back-office costs by 70% in six months. You pay for outcomes, not seats. See it at maximor.aiBrex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAnrok is the sales tax platform that watches your exposure everywhere, automates compliance, and flags risk before it turns into a surprise back-tax letter from a state you've never set foot in. Companies like Anthropic, Notion, and Vanta already trust Anrok to stay ahead of rules that move faster than any spreadsheet can. Talk to a sales tax expert for a personalized exposure estimate at anrok.com/rtn—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNCJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Sell $4B in subs, own none of the stores0:33 Origin story: Peter Cancro buys a sub shop at 171:47 It's a royalty business2:42 Key metrics6:07 What you're actually buying6:42 The three revenue streams7:19 The franchisee's P&L10:00 Sponsors — RightRev | Pulley | Rillet13:02 Corporate P&L: 47% EBITDA margins13:33 The Blackstone math14:38 $2.1B whole business securitization15:09 Full EBITDA bridge16:00 The CEO buying back the 2%17:10 Red flag 1: Up-C structure18:11 Red flag 2: tax receivable agreement18:45 Red flag 3: controlled company governance19:05 Red flag 4: sponsor already took $500M19:29 Red flag 5: charitable donations added back20:13 Red flag 6: cheap debt maturing in 202920:52 Sponsors — Maximor | Brex | Anrok23:56 Valuation: $10–12B24:32 Peer comparison25:27 How do you underwrite $12B?25:58 Misc: quantum attack on the provolone26:28 The hidden 53rd week26:57 No drive-thru is a feature27:13 Verdict27:56 Credits#RunTheNumbersPodcast #IPO #Investing #BusinessStrategy #FinanceLeadership