How Home Depot is run
Home Depot ran 2,359 stores at the start of February 2026, 324 of them in Canada and Mexico. Its annual report describes no franchised stores. (Home Depot annual report, fiscal 2025)
Who owns Home Depot
The Home Depot is a public company; its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HD. (Home Depot annual report, fiscal 2025)
Franchises like Home Depot
If you want to own a hardware business, these franchise brands sell the closest thing to Home Depot, largest first.
| Brand | Cost to open | Fee | Royalty | Locations | Sales a location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace HardwareFee $5K · Royalty None · Sales $3M a location | $604K–$2M | $5K | None | 5,144+393 in 3 yrs | $3M |
| Snap-onFee $8K–$16K · Royalty $145/month | $201K–$465K | $8K–$16K | $145/month | 3,409−32 in 3 yrs | – |
| Matco ToolsFee $10K · Royalty None · Sales $517K a location | $104K–$376K | $10K | None | 1,741−74 in 3 yrs | $517K |
| Mac ToolsFee $8K · Royalty $1,200/year | $138K–$418K | $8K | $1,200/year | 832+60 in 3 yrs | – |
| Cornwell Quality ToolsFee $0 · Royalty None · Sales $614K a location | $175K–$319K | $0 | None | 793+17 in 3 yrs | $614K |
| True Value RentalFee $3K · Royalty 1.5%–3% | $543K–$981K | $3K | 1.5%–3% | 200−52 in 3 yrs | – |
Locations are US locations, franchised and company-owned, at the end of the latest year filed. Sales are yearly, before costs, where the brand publishes them.
Ace Hardware is the largest, with 5,144 US locations, and Matco Tools costs least to open, from $104,374. Ace Hardware added the most locations, +393 over 3 years. Of the brands that publish sales, Ace Hardware reports the most per location, $3M a year. The typical retail franchise starts at $198K to open; see where the money goes.
Sources
Questions
Which of these hardware franchises loses the fewest owners?
Ace Hardware. About 1.3% of its franchised locations a year closed, were terminated or weren't renewed over the years its latest filing covers, against 14.5% a year at Cornwell Quality Tools. Buy-backs by the franchisor and sales to new owners don't count as exits. Failure rates by brand