Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory under this name — though SBA loans to its franchisees exist; verify eligibility with your lender
CARL'S JR
Other · independent · est. —
Carl's Jr. is a fast-food hamburger chain known for large charbroiled burgers, fries, and shakes; this 'NT' listing refers to a specific franchise-offering variation (such as a non-traditional or new-territory format). It runs quick-service restaurants with drive-thru. A franchisee operates one or more locations under the brand.
CARL'S JR net unit count declined -6.9% from 2022–2026 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Proven & steady
Distress
A real track record with an unremarkable region of the ledger: neither the growth nor the exits stand out, for better or worse. The main concern in the record: the system is shrinking.
Exit rate · latest year
4.6%
fiscal 2026, per Item 20
Cost to open
$1.5M–$3.3M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
0.0%
19 loans resolved — directional only
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2022–2026
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2026, 45 of 982 franchised outlets left the system — a 4.6% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 1,079 | 1,066 | 1,069 | 1,063 | 1,032 |
| Opened | 5 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 5 |
| Transfers | 39 | 94 | 33 | 12 | 5 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Non-renewals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 12 | 4 | 12 | 34 | 43 |
| Outlets at end | 1,066 | 1,069 | 1,063 | 1,032 | 992 |
| Net change | -13 | +3 | -6 | -31 | -40 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 35 SBA-backed loans to CARL'S JR franchisees since 1992. Only 19 have resolved so far — too thin for a reliable default rate, but 0 of them charged off.
—
19 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$1,884,317
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
3 vs 2
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO CARL'S JR BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
Too few loans to identify
Who buys it
70.4%
first-time franchise owners
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 35 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to CARL'S JR franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $25K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $1.5M–$3.3M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$1.5M–$3.3M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$25K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
4%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$40K
4% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$400K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for CARL'S JR with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
Modeled from the public record, this brand looks safer than 88% of systems we score.
Risk percentile
12 / 100
Loan-corroborated
Modeled SBA charge-off
7.7%
Observed SBA charge-off
0.0%
Top drivers: System size (log units) (lowers) · Item 3 litigation (log) (lowers) · Investment ceiling (log) (lowers) · Net unit growth (raises). 15+ resolved loans stand behind this estimate. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
Why is Carl's Jr. closing? Franchisee to sell nearly 50 SoCal locations
news:Ventura County Star · 3mo ago
Major Carl's Jr. Franchisee Closing or Selling 59 Locations amid Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing
news:People.com · 3mo ago
news:Fast Company · 3mo ago
A big Carl's Jr. franchisee has filed for bankruptcy
news:Restaurant Business · 5mo ago
Franchise litigation docket: Castro v. Carl's Jr. Restaurants, LLC (District Court, S.D. Florida)
CourtListener/RECAP · 24mo ago
11 questions to ask a CARL'S JR franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These are the questions built from what CARL'S JR has actually disclosed — each one carries the number it came from, so you can tell whether the answer squares with the record.
- 01
CARL'S JR’s own Item 20 shows 45 of 982 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2026 — about 4.6%. Do you know any of those owners, and do you know why they left?
A franchisor will call these “transitions.” An owner three doors down usually knows whether they sold at a profit or handed the keys back.
FDD Item 20 · FY2026
- 02
5 units transferred to new owners in fiscal 2026. When you look at those, were they people cashing out a good business — or getting out of a bad one?
Transfers count as neutral in every ranking. They are the single easiest place to hide distress.
FDD Item 20 · FY2026
- 03
The system went from 1,066 units to 992 over 5 disclosed years. What's the explanation you've been given, and do you believe it?
A shrinking system means fewer owners funding the ad fund and support staff you're paying for.
FDD Item 20 · FY2022–FY2026
- 04
Item 7 says the low end to open is $1.5M, but the average recent SBA loan to a CARL'S JR franchisee was $1.9M. What did you actually spend to open, all in?
Lenders size loans to real project costs. A large gap between the disclosed floor and what banks actually fund is the most common way buyers get underfunded.
FDD Item 7 vs SBA approvals FY2020+
- 05
You pay 4.0% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?
Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.
FDD Item 6
- 06
CARL'S JR makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?
Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.
FDD Item 19 · 2026
- 07
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 08
Item 3 discloses 12 legal matters. Do you know what those were about, and were any brought by franchisees?
Franchisee-brought suits over territory, fees or support tell you how the franchisor behaves when there's a disagreement.
FDD Item 3 · 2026
- 09
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 10
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 11
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if CARL'S JR’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing CARL'S JR's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
CARL'S JR franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of CARL'S JR franchises closed last year?
In CARL'S JR's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2026), 45 of 982 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 4.6%. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a CARL'S JR franchise cost?
Per CARL'S JR's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $25K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $1.5M–$3.3M (Item 7).
What royalty does CARL'S JR charge?
CARL'S JR charges an ongoing royalty of 4.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does CARL'S JR disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — CARL'S JR makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $1.3M. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.