Burger King Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Burger King is a global quick-service burger chain built around flame-grilled Whoppers, chicken, and value combos. Franchisees run individual restaurants, kitchen, drive-thru, and staff, in a mature, thin-margin QSR market.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A BURGER KING franchise requires a total initial investment of $348K – $3.3M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.7M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 7.3% charge-off rate across 275 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $348K – $3.3M
- 58th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.7M
- 27th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 6,650
- 96th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 7.3%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $348K – $3.3M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.7M/year (median $1.6M).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 74/100 (higher is better). 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, 2010–2025).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -16.9% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Burger King Company LLC
- Parent company
- Restaurant Brands International Limited Partnership (RBILP)
- Ultimate parent
- Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI)
- Predecessor
- Burger King Corporation (BK Corporation)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Thomas B. Curtis IV
- CEO experience
- 4 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 5707 Blue Lagoon Drive, Miami, Florida 33126
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $9.4B
- vs $8.4B 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
- CEO
- Thomas B. Curtis IV
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1954
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 51
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 179% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $45K | $90K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $253K | $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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $348K – $3.3M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $45K – $90K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $110 |
| Training fee | $8K |
| Transfer fee | $2K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $13K |
| 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.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 40% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
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
$220K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one BURGER KING unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
12%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 BURGER KING units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
48.9%
7.31× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.90×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$2.1M
on $10.2M purchase
Total debt
$8.0M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.7M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.6M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 4,730
- vs category median 20 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $189K→$5.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.9x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.7M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 0/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Operator retention
System contracting at -16.9% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Burger King Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 6,650
- Opened
- 83
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 36
- Terminated
- 7
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 33
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.4%
- Company-owned
- 1,132
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 83%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +0.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -16.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 83
- Closed (3yr)
- 36
- Terminated (3yr)
- 7
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 33
- Transfers (3yr)
- 242
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 13
- Franchisor bought back
- 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
- Typical loan rate
- 6.4%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.8%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 8,420
- 4.3 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 17%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 11% went to startups / new businesses, 89% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 10.8% vs 10.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 8% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Burger King charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Burger King franchisees
Showing 3 of 84 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
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.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 7.3% — 54% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Two pending cases where BKC/predecessor is defendant (FIF v. BK Corp - $500M+ claim re alleged oral franchise agreement in Canada; Arrington - antitrust class action re no-solicitation clause). One franchisor-initiated suit (BKC v. Chaus - enforcement of franchise termination). Several concluded cases. Multiple affiliate cases not involving BKC directly.
Largest disclosed settlement: $585,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 74 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — impossible to assess actual profitability or ROI on $348k-$3.3M investment
- 02MINORWide investment range ($348k-$3.3M) indicates highly variable unit economics and unpredictable capital requirements
- 03MEDRoyalty rates hidden in Item 6 without summary — suggests complex or potentially unfavorable fee structure not disclosed upfront
- 04MINORNo 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
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 20 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| 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 | No |
| Arbitration location | Miami-Dade County, Florida |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two pending cases where BKC/predecessor is defendant (FIF v. BK Corp - $500M+ claim re alleged oral franchise agreement in Canada; Arrington - antitrust class action re no-solicitation clause). One franchisor-initiated suit (BKC v. Chaus - enforcement of franchise termination). Several concluded cases. Multiple affiliate cases not involving BKC directly.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 20 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 320 hrs
- Training location
- Miami, Florida or other locations specified by franchisor; in-restaurant training at authorized Training Restaurants
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- 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
6,663 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 $1.7M. The median is $1.6M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the BURGER KING FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the BURGER KING FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 6,650 total units in the United States, including 5,518 franchised units and 1,132 company-owned units. 83 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 verdict score of 74 out of 100 (higher is better), 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent BURGER KING, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.