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FranchiseVerdict

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2 brands side-by-side

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indicates the clear winner per row. Ties and missing data are not highlighted.

How winners are chosen

Lower is better for investment, liquid capital, franchise fee, royalty and ad-fund rates, SBA charge-off rate, and owner turnover.

Higher is better for disclosed revenue and owner earnings, verdict score, total units, net unit growth, and franchisee contacts. For the letter grade, A ranks highest.

A row is highlighted only when one brand clearly leads. Ties are never highlighted, and missing data never counts as a win. Some rows (earnings-metric type, loan counts, contract terms) are informational and have no winner.

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Focus by buyer type

Brand
HTEAO logoAStrongest tier
HTEAO
Quick-Service Restaurants
2025 FDD
Remove
FIVE GUYS® logoAStrongest tier
FIVE GUYS®
Quick-Service Restaurants
2025 FDD
Remove
Vitals
FDD filing
FDD issued Apr 30, 2025
FDD issued Jun 30, 2025
Investment range
$387K – $1.9M
$928K – $1.4M
Liquid capital
$10K – $100K
$20K – $25K
Franchise fee
$40K
$25K
Royalty rate
6.0%
6.0%
Ad fund rate
2.0%
2.0%
Performance
Avg gross sales
Partial, no system averageOutlets $849K-$2.1M
No Item 19 representation
Median gross sales
Not extracted
Not disclosed
Avg owner earnings
Metric varies by brand. Check type below
Not extracted
Not disclosed
Earnings metric
Not classified
Not classified
Risk
Rating
AStrongest tier
AStrongest tier
Verdict score
81 / 100
70 / 100
SBA charge-off rate
0.0% (n=47)
Limited · 35 loans
SBA loans on record
47
35
Scale
Total units
144
1,558
Net change (latest yr)
+37
+21
Signed, not yet open
177 (1.23 per open outlet)
361 (0.23 per open outlet)
Turnover rate
1.5%
0.9%
Contract
Initial term (years)
15
10
Renewal term (years)
5
10
Initial training (hrs)
41
176
Contacts
Franchisee phones
104
100

Looking for a detailed head-to-head breakdown?

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