Five Guys

Five Guys, a Five Guys Enterprises franchise, has been franchising since 2003 — 17 years after the concept was founded in 1986 , currently with 1,757 total locations (1,557 franchised, 200 company-owned — a 89% franchise-to-corporate ratio that signals the operator's reliance on independent owners) in the food & beverage sector, headquartered in VA. According to the 2024 FDD, the total initial investment ranges from $314K to $958K — a 205% spread between the low and high end that reflects how site size, market, and buildout scope change the capital requirement. This figure includes the franchise fee of $25K, equipment, leasehold improvements, and initial working capital through the ramp-up period.

Ongoing royalties run 6.0% of gross sales with an additional 1.5% national advertising fund contribution, bringing the combined ongoing cost to 7.5% of every dollar in sales. Critically, Five Guys does disclose financial performance data in Item 19, a voluntary disclosure that only about a third of U.S. franchisors make. The reported average gross revenue per location is $1.5M, meaning the typical unit pays roughly $90K per year in royalty alone. Revenue is not profit — actual franchisee take-home depends on rent, labor, cost of goods, and local demand.

Network momentum is currently positive: Five Guys added units at a 2.9% net rate year-over-year (80 openings, 30 closures). Sustained positive growth is a signal that the unit-economics are working well enough to attract new operators, though late-stage growth can also reflect aggressive sales push rather than operational health. Before committing capital, triangulate this summary against the full FDD, a franchise attorney's review, and direct conversations with five or more current and former franchisees from Item 20.