Burger KingFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A BURGER KING franchise requires a total initial investment of $348K – $3.3M, including a $50K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.4M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 7.3% charge-off rate across 275 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $348K – $3.3M
- 66th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 19,900
- 100th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 7.3%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
At 0.8x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1954. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
14 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
Large franchise systems benefit from brand recognition, supply chain leverage, and proven operations.
Bottom line
- Total investment $348K – $3.3M including a $50K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.4M/year (median $1.4M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 34/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 7.3% across 275 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 14 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Burger King Company LLC
- Parent company
- Restaurant Brands International Limited Partnership
- Ultimate parent
- 3G Restaurant Brands Holdings LP
- Predecessor
- Parents and Affiliates
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Joshua Kobza
- CEO experience
- 4 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 5707 Blue Lagoon Drive, Miami, Florida 33126
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.4B
- vs $1.3B prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Franchising Start Date Restaurant Count
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service restaurant locations serving flame-grilled burgers, chicken, and sides. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staffing, customer service, and adherence to brand standards across a mature, competitive QSR segment with thin margins.
- CEO
- Joshua Kobza
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1954
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 51
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $90K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $283K | $3.2M |
| Total initial investment | $348K | $3.3M |
Source: BURGER KING 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$188K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
10%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
10.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $348K – $3.3M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $90K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $50K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- See Item 6 for specific rates based on program and year
- Ad fund
- Percentage of gross sales (varies by program)
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Training fee | $8K |
| Transfer fee | $2K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.4M
- Item 19 type
- Actual sales distributions
- Sample size
- 6701 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $234K→$5.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 0 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Burger King Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 19,900
- Opened
- 63
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 69
- Terminated
- 7
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 33
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.3%
- Company-owned
- 1,132
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 94%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 341
- Transfer rate
- 3.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 98.4%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 0.6%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 51 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 275
- Loan volume
- $196.1M
- Median loan
- $451K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 7.3%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 92.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 84
- Defaults
- 17
Vintage analysis
Burger King charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Burger King's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 34-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Burger King presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to lack of financial transparency (no Item 19), unclear unit growth, opaque royalty structure, and a wide investment range that suggests inconsistent franchise economics.
Litigation (Item 3)
7 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 34 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — impossible to assess actual profitability or ROI on $348k-$3.3M investment
- 02MED19,900 units with unknown growth trajectory — lack of transparency suggests potential stagnation or decline in mature market
- 03MINORWide investment range ($348k-$3.3M) indicates highly variable unit economics and unpredictable capital requirements
- 04MEDRoyalty rates hidden in Item 6 without summary — suggests complex or potentially unfavorable fee structure not disclosed upfront
- 05HIGHNo going concern issues reported, but absence of average revenue/net income data prevents fundamental financial viability assessment
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 20 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Specific location only |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 2 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 14 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
7 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 64 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 330 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Integrated electronic register system (Global POS Policy)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Integrated electronic register system (Global POS Policy)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
6,664 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
BURGER KING · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a BURGER KING franchise?
The total investment to open a BURGER KING franchise ranges from $348K – $3.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do BURGER KING franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the BURGER KING FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.4M. The median is $1.4M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is BURGER KING's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, BURGER KING has a charge-off rate of 7.3% across 275 loans, meaning 7.3% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many BURGER KING franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, BURGER KING has 19,900 total units in the United States, including 6,992 franchised units and 1,132 company-owned units. 63 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is BURGER KING a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates BURGER KING as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 34 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.