The Joint Corp. Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)]

Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)]

Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2026
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation These unaudited financial statements represent the condensed consolidated financial statements of The Joint Corp. (“The Joint”), which includes its variable interest entities (“VIEs”), and its wholly owned subsidiary, The Joint Corporate Unit No. 1, LLC (collectively, the “Company”). The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments which are necessary for a fair statement of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Such unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with The Joint Corp. and Subsidiary and Affiliates consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto as set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K as of and for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on March 13, 2026, which included all disclosures required by GAAP. The results of operations for the periods ended March 31, 2026 and 2025 are not necessarily indicative of expected operating results for the full year. The information presented throughout the document as of and for the three month periods ended March 31, 2026 and 2025 is unaudited. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amount of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs, expenses and other (expenses) income that are reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying disclosures. These estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events, historical experience, actions that we may undertake in the future and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. As a result, actual results may be different from these estimates.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The Joint and its wholly owned subsidiary, The Joint Corporate Unit No. 1, LLC, which was dormant for all periods presented. We consolidate VIEs in which we are the primary beneficiary in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 810, Consolidations. Non-controlling interests represent third-party equity ownership interests in VIEs. All significant inter-affiliate accounts and transactions between The Joint and its VIEs have been eliminated in consolidation.
Comprehensive Income	Comprehensive Income Net income was the same as comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively.
Nature of Operations	Nature of Operations The Joint Corp., a Delaware corporation, was formed on March 10, 2010, for the principal purpose of franchising and developing chiropractic clinics, selling regional developer rights, supporting the operations of franchised chiropractic clinics, and operating and managing corporate chiropractic clinics at locations throughout the United States. The franchising of chiropractic clinics is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and various state authorities.
Variable Interest Entities	Variable Interest Entities Certain states prohibit the “corporate practice of chiropractic,” which restricts business corporations from practicing chiropractic care by exercising control over clinical decisions by chiropractic doctors. In states that prohibit the corporate practice of chiropractic, we typically enter into long-term management agreements with professional corporations (“PCs”) that are owned by licensed chiropractic doctors, which, in turn, employ or contract with doctors who provide professional chiropractic care in our clinics. Under these management agreements with PCs, we provide, on an exclusive basis, all non-clinical services of the chiropractic practice. We have entered into such management agreements with four PCs. In connection with the sale of five company-owned or managed clinics in the Kansas City region, we terminated our management agreement with one PC as of June 30, 2025. For additional information on clinic sales, refer to Note 3, Divestitures. If an entity is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE, the entity is required to consolidate the VIE in its financial statements. An entity is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE if it has both of the following characteristics: (a) the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, and (b) the obligation to absorb the majority of losses of the VIE or the right to receive the majority of benefits from the VIE. In accordance with relevant accounting guidance, these PCs were determined to be VIEs, as fees paid by the PCs to us to use as our management service provider are considered variable interests because the fees do not meet all the following criteria: (1) the fees are compensation for services provided and are commensurate with the level of effort required to provide those services; (2) the decision maker or service provider does not hold other interests in the VIE that individually, or in the aggregate, would absorb more than an insignificant amount of the VIE’s expected losses or receive more than an insignificant amount of the VIE’s expected residual returns; and (3) the service arrangement includes only terms, conditions, or amounts that are customarily present in arrangements for similar services negotiated at arm’s length. Additionally, we have determined that we have the ability to direct the activities that most significantly impact the performance of these PCs and we have an obligation to absorb losses or receive benefits which could potentially be significant to the PCs. Accordingly, the PCs are VIEs for which we are the primary beneficiary and are consolidated by us. The revenues of VIEs represent the revenues of company-managed clinics in states that prohibit the corporate practice of chiropractic. Our involvement with VIEs affects our financial performance and cash flows primarily through amounts recorded as revenues from company-owned or managed clinics and general and administrative expenses, which are principally comprised of payroll and related expenses, merchant card fees and insurance expense, all of which are reported in Income from discontinued operations before income tax expense in our condensed consolidated income statement. The management fees/income provided by the management agreements are considered intercompany transactions and therefore eliminated upon consolidation of VIEs.
Cash and Cash Equivalents	Cash and Cash Equivalents We consider all highly liquid instruments purchased with a maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. We continually monitor our positions with, and credit quality of, the financial institutions with which we invest. As of the balance sheet date and periodically throughout the period, we have maintained balances in various operating accounts in excess of federally insured limits. We invest our cash primarily in short-term bank deposits and money market funds.
Restricted Cash	Restricted Cash Restricted cash relates to cash that franchisees and company-owned or managed clinics contribute to our National Marketing Fund and cash that franchisees provide to various voluntary regional Co-Op Marketing Funds. Cash contributed by franchisees to the National Marketing Fund is to be used in accordance with our Franchise Disclosure Document with a focus on regional and national marketing and advertising. While such cash balances are not legally segregated and restricted as to withdrawal or usage, our accounting policy is to classify these funds as restricted cash.
Accounts Receivable	Accounts receivable primarily represents amounts due from franchisees for royalty fees.
Allowance for Credit Losses	We record an allowance for credit losses as a reduction to our accounts receivables for amounts that we do not expect to recover. An allowance for credit losses is determined through assessments of collectability based on historical trends, the financial condition of our franchisees, including any known or anticipated bankruptcies and an evaluation of current economic conditions, as well as our expectations of conditions in the future. Actual losses ultimately could differ materially in the near term from the amounts estimated in determining the allowance.
Property and Equipment	Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost and relate mostly to the corporate headquarters leasehold improvements, its furniture and fixtures and other office and computer equipment. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives, which is generally three to ten years. Leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful life of the assets. Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred, while major renewals and improvements are capitalized. When items of property or equipment are sold or retired, the related cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any gain or loss is included in income.
Leases	Leases We lease property and equipment under operating leases. We lease our corporate office space and the space for each of the company-owned or managed clinics in the portfolio. We recognize a right-of-use ("ROU") asset and lease liability for all leases. The lease for our corporate office space is recognized as a ROU asset and lease liability in its condensed consolidated balance sheet as continuing operations while all other leases for each of the company-owned or managed clinics are reported in discontinued operations. Certain leases include one or more renewal options, generally for the same period as the initial term of the lease. The exercise of lease renewal options is generally at our sole discretion and, as such, we typically determine that exercise of these renewal options is not reasonably certain. As a result, we do not include the renewal option period in the expected lease term and the associated lease payments are not included in the measurement of the ROU asset and lease liability. When available, we use the rate implicit in the lease to discount lease payments; however, the rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable for substantially all of our leases. In such cases, we estimate our incremental borrowing rate as the interest rate we would pay to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments over a similar term, with similar collateral as in the lease and in a similar economic environment. We estimate these rates using available evidence such as rates imposed by third-party lenders to us in recent financings or observable risk-free interest rate and credit spreads for commercial debt of a similar duration, with credit spreads correlating to our estimated creditworthiness. For operating leases that include rent holidays and rent escalation clauses, we recognize lease expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term from the date we take possession of the leased property. Pre-opening costs are recorded as incurred in general and administrative expenses. Variable lease payments, such as percentage rentals based on location sales, periodic adjustments for inflation, reimbursement of real estate taxes, any variable common area maintenance and any other variable costs associated with the leased corporate office space are expensed as incurred in general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated income statements. Any variable costs associated with the leased property for company-owned or managed clinics are expensed as incurred and are included in Income from discontinued operations before income tax expense in the condensed consolidated income statements.
Long-Lived Assets	Long-Lived Assets We review our long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recovered. We look primarily to estimated undiscounted future cash flows in our assessment of whether or not long-lived assets are recoverable. We record an impairment loss when the carrying amount of the asset is not recoverable and exceeds its fair value.Long-lived assets that meet the criteria for the held for sale designation are reported at the lower of their carrying value or fair value less estimated cost to sell.
Revenue Recognition / Regional Developer Fees / Regional Developer Rights Contract Termination Costs	Revenue Recognition We generate revenue primarily through company-owned or managed clinics and through royalties, franchise fees, advertising fund contributions, IT-related income and computer software fees from our franchisees. Revenues from Company-Owned or Managed Clinics. We earn revenues from clinics we own and operate or manage throughout the United States. Revenues from company-owned or managed clinics are recognized when services are performed and are related to discontinued operations. We offer a variety of membership and wellness packages, which feature discounted pricing as compared with our single-visit pricing. Amounts collected in advance for membership and wellness packages are recorded as deferred revenue and recognized when the service is performed. Any unused visits associated with monthly memberships are recognized on a month-to-month basis. We recognize a contract liability (or a deferred revenue liability) related to the prepaid treatment plans for which we have an ongoing performance obligation. We derecognize this contract liability and recognize revenue, as the patient consumes his or her visits related to the package and we transfer our services. If we determine that we are not subject to unclaimed property laws for the portion of wellness package that we do not expect to be redeemed (referred to as “breakage”), then we recognize breakage revenue in proportion to the pattern of exercised rights by the patient. Royalties and Advertising Fund Revenue. We collect royalties as stipulated in the franchise agreement, equal to 7% of gross sales and a marketing and advertising fee currently equal to 2% of gross sales. Royalties, including franchisee contributions to advertising funds, are calculated as a percentage of clinic sales over the term of the franchise agreement. The revenue accounting standard provides an exception for the recognition of sales-based royalties promised in exchange for a license (which generally requires a reporting entity to estimate the amount of variable consideration to which it will be entitled in the transaction price). As the franchise agreement royalties, inclusive of advertising fund contributions, represent sales-based royalties that are related entirely to our performance obligation under the franchise agreement, such sales-based royalties are recognized as franchisee clinic level sales occur. Royalties are collected semi-monthly, two working days after each sales period has ended. Franchise Fees. We require the entire non-refundable initial franchise fee to be paid upon execution of a franchise agreement, which typically has an initial term of 10 years. Initial franchise fees are recognized ratably on a straight-line basis over the term of the franchise agreement. Our services under the franchise agreement include training of franchisees and staff, site selection, construction/vendor management and ongoing operations support. We provide no financing to franchisees and offer no guaranties on their behalf. The services provided by us are highly interrelated with the franchise license and as such are considered to represent a single performance obligation. Renewal franchise fees, as well as transfer fees, are also recognized as revenue on a straight-line basis over the term of the respective franchise agreement. Software Fees. We collect a monthly fee from our franchisees for use of our proprietary chiropractic software, computer support and internet services support. These fees are recognized ratably on a straight-line basis over the term of the respective franchise agreement. Capitalized Sales Commissions. Sales commissions earned by the regional developers and our sales force are considered incremental and recoverable costs of obtaining a franchise agreement with a franchisee. These costs are deferred and then amortized as the respective franchise fees are recognized ratably on a straight-line basis over the term of the franchise agreement. Regional Developer Fees We have a regional developer program where regional developers are granted an exclusive geographical territory and commit to a minimum development obligation within that defined territory. Upon receiving exclusive rights to develop a territory, a regional developer will pay an upfront fee to us. Upfront regional developer fees represent consideration received from a vendor to act as our agent within an exclusive territory. The upfront regional developer fee is accounted for as a reduction of cost of revenues, in franchise and regional development cost of revenues, to offset the respective future commissions paid to the regional developer. The fees are ratably recognized over the term of the related regional developer agreement. Regional developers receive fees that are funded by the initial franchise fees collected from franchisees upon the sale of franchises within their exclusive geographical territory and a royalty of 3% of sales generated by franchised clinics in their exclusive geographical territory. Initial fees related to the sale of franchises within their exclusive geographical territory are initially deferred as deferred franchise costs and are recognized as an expense in franchise cost of revenues when the respective revenue is recognized, which is generally over the term of the related franchise agreement. Royalties of 3% of sales generated by franchised clinics in their regions are also recognized as franchise cost of revenues as franchisee clinic level sales occur. This 3% fee is funded by the 7% royalties we collect from the franchisees in their regions. Certain regional developer agreements result in the regional developer acquiring the rights to existing royalty streams from clinics already open in the respective territory. In those instances, fees collected from the sale of the royalty stream are recognized as a decrease to franchise and regional developer cost of revenues over the remaining life of the respective franchise agreements. Regional Developer Rights Contract Termination Costs From time to time, subject to our strategy, regional developer rights are reacquired by us, resulting in a termination of the contract. The termination costs to reacquire the regional developer rights are recognized at fair value, less any unrecognized upfront regional developer fee liability balance, as a general and administrative expense in the period in which the contract is terminated in accordance with the contract terms and are recorded within general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated income statements. When regional developer rights are reacquired in conjunction with the sale of company-owned or managed clinics, the upfront regional developer fee liability balance at the time of the sale are treated as relieved and are included with the total consideration received when we calculate the gain or loss on the sale.
Advertising Costs	Advertising Costs Advertising costs are advertising and marketing expenses incurred by us, primarily through advertising funds. We expense production costs of commercial advertising upon first airing and expense the costs of communicating the advertising in the period in which the advertising occurs.
Income Taxes	Income Taxes Income tax expense during interim periods is based on applying an estimated annual effective income tax rate to year-to-date pre-tax income, plus any significant unusual or infrequently occurring items that are recorded in the interim period. The computation of the annual estimated effective tax rate at each interim period requires certain estimates and significant judgment including, but not limited to, the expected pre-tax income for the year and permanent differences. The accounting estimates used to compute the provision for income taxes may change as new events occur, more experience is obtained, additional information becomes known or the tax environment changes.
Earnings (Loss) per Common Share	Earnings (Loss) per Common Share Basic earnings (loss) per common share is computed by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings (loss) per common share is computed by giving effect to all potentially dilutive common shares including restricted stock and stock options.
Stock-Based Compensation	Stock-Based Compensation We account for share-based payments by recognizing compensation expense based upon the estimated fair value of the awards on the date of grant. We determine the estimated grant-date fair value of restricted shares using the closing price on the date of the grant and the grant-date fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes-Merton model. In order to calculate the fair value of the options, certain assumptions are made regarding the components of the model, including risk-free interest rate, volatility, expected dividend yield and expected option life. Changes to the assumptions could cause significant adjustments to the valuation. We recognize compensation costs ratably over the period of service using the straight-line method. Forfeitures are estimated based on historical and forecasted turnover, which is approximately 5%.
Loss Contingencies	Loss Contingencies ASC Topic 450 governs the disclosure of loss contingencies and accrual of loss contingencies in respect of litigation and other claims. We record an accrual for a potential loss when it is probable that a loss will occur and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. When the reasonable estimate of the potential loss is within a range of amounts, the minimum of the range of potential loss is accrued, unless a higher amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount within the range. Moreover, if an accrual is not required, we provide additional disclosure related to litigation and other claims when it is reasonably possible (i.e., more than remote) that the outcomes of such litigation and other claims include potential material adverse impacts on us. Legal costs to be incurred in connection with a loss contingency are expensed as such costs are incurred.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Items subject to significant estimates and assumptions include loss contingencies, share-based compensations, useful lives and realizability of long-lived assets, deferred revenue and revenue recognition related to breakage, deferred franchise costs, calculation of ROU assets and liabilities related to leases, realizability of deferred tax assets, impairment of goodwill, intangible assets and other long-lived assets, and purchase price allocations and related valuations. Deferred revenue related to breakage, goodwill and intangible assets are related to discontinued operations.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Adopted and Not Yet Adopted	Recent Accounting Pronouncements Adopted and Not Yet Adopted In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”), which requires public entities to provide greater disaggregation within their annual rate reconciliation, including new requirements to present reconciling items on a gross basis in specified categories, disclose both percentages and dollar amounts and disaggregate individual reconciling items by jurisdiction and nature when the effect of the items meet a quantitative threshold. The guidance also requires disaggregating the annual disclosure of income taxes paid, net of refunds received, by federal (national), state and foreign taxes, with separate presentation of individual jurisdictions that meet a quantitative threshold. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024, on a prospective basis, with a retrospective option, and early adoption is permitted. We adopted ASU 2023-09 for the year ended December 31, 2025. There was no material effect on our condensed consolidated financial statements and disclosures. In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses (“ASU 2024-03”), and in January 2025, the FASB issued ASU No. 2025-01, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Clarifying the Effective Date, which clarified the effective date of ASU 2024-03. ASU 2024-03 will require us to disclose the amounts of purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation and intangible asset amortization, as applicable, included in certain expense captions in the consolidated statements of operations, as well as qualitatively describe remaining amounts included in those captions. ASU 2024-03 will also require us to disclose both the amount and our definition of selling expenses. The transition method is prospective with the retrospective method permitted and will be effective for the annual period ending December 31, 2027 and interim periods for the interim period beginning January 1, 2028. We are currently evaluating the impact of adoption of this standard on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.