Original data analysis · Published October 16, 2026
Lawn Doctor’s reported franchised-outlet count rose by 23 in 2024. The fuller picture was 24 openings, one termination and nine transfers. Mosquito Joe’s count barely changed—down one—but its disclosure recorded 23 openings, 24 terminations and eight transfers.
A growing or steady system total does not tell a buyer what happened inside it. We read Item 20 in the 2025 franchise disclosure documents for three home-service brands and separated openings, status reductions and transfers. These are outlet records, not a count of people who failed or left.
A net change is only the last line
| Brand | Start of 2024 | Reported openings | Terminations | Nonrenewals | Reacquisitions | Ceased: other | End of 2024 | Net change | Transfers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawn Doctor | 630 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 653 | +23 | 9 |
| Molly Maid | 464 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 448 | -16 | 13 |
| Mosquito Joe | 416 | 23 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 415 | -1 | 8 |
The count reconciles as start + reported openings − terminations − nonrenewals − reacquisitions − other cessations = end. Transfers are not subtracted again. They can keep a business in the same franchise system with a different owner.
What each headline leaves out
Lawn Doctor: growth alongside ownership changes
The disclosed total rose from 630 to 653. Twenty-four openings and one termination explain that increase. Nine transfers are additional ownership activity that the net growth number does not describe. The table does not establish whether those sellers retired, took a profit or sold for another reason.
Mosquito Joe: almost flat does not mean nothing happened
The total moved from 416 to 415, with 23 reported openings and 24 terminations. Its definition of openings includes some purchases of an existing franchised business where the previous agreement was terminated. Those figures cannot be converted into 23 newly created businesses and 24 failed businesses.
Molly Maid: contraction has several categories
The total fell from 464 to 448. Nine reported openings were offset by six terminations, two nonrenewals and 17 other cessations. There were also 13 transfers. The “other” category can include territories folded into an existing outlet, so it is not a pure store-closure count.
Three years of movements, without the categories collapsed
| Brand | Year | Start | Openings | Terminations | Nonrenewals | Reacquired | Other cessations | End | Transfers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawn Doctor | 2022 | 613 | 24 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 624 | 28 |
| Lawn Doctor | 2023 | 624 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 630 | 22 |
| Lawn Doctor | 2024 | 630 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 653 | 9 |
| Molly Maid | 2022 | 501 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 481 | 20 |
| Molly Maid | 2023 | 481 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 464 | 15 |
| Molly Maid | 2024 | 464 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 448 | 13 |
| Mosquito Joe | 2022 | 372 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 394 | 30 |
| Mosquito Joe | 2023 | 394 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 416 | 11 |
| Mosquito Joe | 2024 | 416 | 23 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 415 | 8 |
Use Item 20 to ask better purchase questions
Ask what the franchisor counts as an outlet: a location, territory or operating business. Ask how many reported openings were resales, and why agreements ended. Then speak with current and former franchisees using the contacts in the current disclosure document. A system can add territories while individual owners consolidate, sell or leave.
Read the outlet history alongside the actual purchase economics: fees, required spending, staffing and cash needed before receipts cover bills. Our separate franchise SBA loan charge-off study examines an older lending cohort; it measures loan outcomes, not these outlet events.
Documents, definitions and scope
Checked October 16, 2026. This is a selected three-brand study of 2025 FDDs reporting 2022–2024 results, not a 2026 system census or a franchise recommendation. The source documents are the franchisors’ disclosures, accessed through public document copies. We inspected the total rows and transfer tables visually, read the relevant footnotes and reconciled all nine annual aggregate balances.
- Lawn Doctor 2025 FDD: PDF page 58 for transfer totals; PDF page 63 for the status totals. Page numbers here count from the PDF cover.
- Molly Maid 2025 FDD: PDF page 80 for transfer totals; PDF page 84 for the status totals. Page numbers here count from the PDF cover.
- Mosquito Joe 2025 FDD: PDF page 86 for transfer totals; PDF page 90 for the status totals. Page numbers here count from the PDF cover.
We retain each franchisor’s reported system population; for example, Molly Maid’s table includes Puerto Rico. Company-owned outlets are excluded. The national totals reconcile, but Lawn Doctor’s 2023 Virginia state row contains a one-outlet inconsistency; we use the published aggregate totals rather than silently repairing a state row. This does not affect the 2024 headline calculation.
In the Molly Maid and Mosquito Joe documents, openings can include certain resales; terminations include mutual endings, and other cessations can include consolidations. Transfers, terminations and openings are not necessarily independent people. We do not add them into an owner-exit rate or label them failures. “Status reductions” is our chart shorthand for four disclosed outlet-count reduction categories, not an FDD financial metric.
The FTC’s franchise buyer guide explains how disclosures and conversations with franchisees fit a purchase decision. Use the current FDD for an actual transaction. Our source copies are historical editions, not a representation that a registration is currently active.
Cite this study
StartBusinessByState.com. “The Franchise Grew. What Did the Headline Leave Out.” Published October 16, 2026. https://startbusinessbystate.com/franchise-owner-turnover/.
Our original analysis and graphic are available under CC BY 4.0. Credit this study and link to this page when reusing them. Underlying source materials retain their own terms and remain available from the original agencies. This permission applies to our original analysis and graphic, not to the source publications.
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<figure><a href="https://startbusinessbystate.com/franchise-owner-turnover/"><img src="https://startbusinessbystate.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/franchise-owner-turnover.png" alt="The Franchise Grew. What Did the Headline Leave Out?" style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a><figcaption>Source: <a href="https://startbusinessbystate.com/franchise-owner-turnover/">StartBusinessByState.com</a></figcaption></figure>