Franchise Facts Report → brands → Burger King
Burger King franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Shrinking network Item 19 disclosed
Burger King is a well-established quick-service restaurant brand requiring a significant investment of $2.2M-$3.3M.
Everything below is free, read straight off Burger King's registered filing, with where the numbers land against quick-service restaurant peers. Weighing Burger King against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Burger King's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 640450 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Burger King? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Burger King will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Burger King franchise make?
Burger King is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure did not machine-read cleanly from this filing, so we don't print one; Item 19 of the source FDD has the tables. See every quick-service restaurant brand that discloses earnings in the Fast food & quick-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Burger King franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Burger King's 4.5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Burger King franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Burger King franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure.
Burger King lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Burger King's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose legal proceedings in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Burger King itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
Burger King closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Burger King will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Burger King's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a quick-service restaurant of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Burger King's latest tables show a shrinking franchised network — more units left than opened. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 0%, against a quick-service restaurant median of 2.9% — at or better than the category. Net franchised outlets moved -6 to 5,518 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Burger King?
Burger King's franchise is offered by Burger King Company LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Quick-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Burger King is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Burger King franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Burger King — who is the franchisor?
Burger King's most recently filed FDD (2026) names Burger King Company LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Burger King franchise cost?
Burger King's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $2,249,200 – $3,320,600, with an initial franchise fee of $50,000 and a 4.5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against quick-service restaurant peers it sits in the bottom quartile (median $604,609).
How much profit does a Burger King franchise make?
Burger King discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (4.5% of gross for Burger King), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Burger King franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate.
Does Burger King disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Burger King reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure did not machine-read cleanly, so check Item 19 of the source FDD for the numbers.
Are there lawsuits against Burger King?
Burger King's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses legal proceedings in Item 3. Item 3 covers the franchisor, its predecessors, parents and affiliates — so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Burger King itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing.
Is Burger King a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Burger King's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against quick-service restaurant peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Burger King or quick-service restaurant: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.