Franchise Facts Report → brands → Five Guys Burgers & Fries
Five Guys Burgers & Fries franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Growing network
Five Guys Burgers & Fries is a quick-service restaurant franchise with an initial investment ranging from $256,200 to $591,250.
Everything below is free, read straight off Five Guys Burgers & Fries's registered filing, with where the numbers land against quick-service restaurant peers. Weighing Five Guys Burgers & Fries against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Five Guys Burgers & Fries's most recent FDD (registered 2025). Source: California Dept. of Financial Protection and Innovation — Franchise Registration · filing app-32496 — check it yourself. See every other California-registered franchise.
Considering Five Guys Burgers & Fries? 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. Five Guys Burgers & Fries will be on it if it fits.
Five Guys Burgers & Fries franchise profit — what the FDD discloses
Plainly: Five Guys Burgers & Fries does not disclose franchise profit or revenue. Its most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-backed earnings figure for Five Guys Burgers & Fries — any number quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure. The absence is itself worth weighing (56% of quick-service restaurant franchisors in our corpus do disclose); the fees, litigation and outlet churn Five Guys Burgers & Fries's FDD does contain are on this page. For brands that put earnings on paper, see Fast food & quick-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings.
Five Guys Burgers & Fries lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Five Guys Burgers & Fries's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2025) does disclose 4 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 Five Guys Burgers & Fries 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. 2 of those proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
Five Guys Burgers & Fries closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Five Guys Burgers & Fries 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 Five Guys Burgers & Fries'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. Five Guys Burgers & Fries's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 1.2%, against a quick-service restaurant median of 2.9% — at or better than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +25 to 924 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Five Guys Burgers & Fries?
Five Guys Burgers & Fries's franchise is offered by Five Guys Franchisor, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2025), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at CA DFPI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it. The same franchisor files separate FDDs for other brands, which is worth knowing — sibling brands share a franchise-support organization but disclose their own numbers:
Quick-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Five Guys Burgers & Fries 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.
Five Guys Burgers & Fries franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Five Guys Burgers & Fries — who is the franchisor?
Five Guys Burgers & Fries's most recently filed FDD (2025) names Five Guys Franchisor, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. The same franchisor also files FDDs for Five Guys. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Five Guys Burgers & Fries franchise cost?
Five Guys Burgers & Fries's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $256,200 – $591,250, with an initial franchise fee of $25,000 and a 6% 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 top quartile (median $604,609).
How much profit does a Five Guys Burgers & Fries franchise make?
Five Guys Burgers & Fries makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-disclosed revenue or profit figure for Five Guys Burgers & Fries at all — and profit would never be disclosed even where earnings are, because it depends on your rent, labor and how you operate. Any profit figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
Does Five Guys Burgers & Fries disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
No — Five Guys Burgers & Fries's most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation. Its absence is worth weighing: 56% of quick-service restaurant franchisors in our corpus do disclose.
Are there lawsuits against Five Guys Burgers & Fries?
Five Guys Burgers & Fries's most recently filed FDD (2025) discloses 4 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 Five Guys Burgers & Fries itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing. 2 of the disclosed proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor.
Is Five Guys Burgers & Fries a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Five Guys Burgers & Fries'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 Five Guys Burgers & Fries 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.