FILING · MN · 2026 FDD
CARL'S JR FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) — 2026
The FDD is the 23-item legal disclosure every U.S. franchisor must hand you at least 14 days before you sign or pay anything (FTC Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 436). CARL'S JR's most recent FDD tracked here is the 2026 FDD, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). Registration-state filings are public records, so you can read it free, with no sign-up.
PUBLIC RECORD · FILED 2026 · SOURCE STATE MN
| ITEM 5 | Initial franchise fee | $25,000 |
| ITEM 6 | Ongoing royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| ITEM 7 | Total initial investment | $1.5M–$3.3M |
| ITEM 3 | Disclosed litigation matters | 12 |
| ITEM 19 | Earnings disclosure (FPR) | Yes — median unit volume $1.3M (population and period as defined in the filing's Item 19) |
| ITEM 20 | Outlets (fiscal 2026) | 942 franchised at year end · 45 exits (exit rate 4.6%, fiscal 2026) |
| ITEM 21 | Franchisor financial statements | Unmodified (clean) opinion — KPMG LLP |
The headline figure is Average Revenue for FY26 (53 weeks, Jan 28, 2025 - Jan 26, 2026), for 728 of 992 units, leaving out non-freestanding (travel plaza, c-store, college, airport, etc.), incomplete revenue data, dual concept restaurants and others. The mean is 5% above the median, so a minority of high-volume units pulls the average up.
Graded on three things the filing states: coverage (2 points if the figure covers at least 75% of the units it is compared with, 1 point for 50–75%), centre (2 points if it prints both a median and a mean, 1 for one of them), and costs (2 points for costs through a profit line or full cost detail, 1 for some cost items). 5–6 points = More complete, 3–4 = Partial, 0–2 = Limited. The grade describes the disclosure, not the business.
| What is measured | Average Revenue (revenue) |
| Period | FY26 (53 weeks, Jan 28, 2025 - Jan 26, 2026) |
| Whose results | Franchised outlets |
| Units included | 728 of 992 franchised and company-operated U.S. restaurants open at end of FY26 |
| Left out |
|
| Average (mean) | $1.4M |
| Median | $1.3M |
| Mean vs median | mean 5.4% above median |
| Met or beat the average | 334 (42.9%) |
| Costs shown | Some cost items only |
| Where | p. 73 (Item 19 runs pp. 72–78) |
KPMG LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2026 FDD; revenue rose 1% from FY2024 to FY2026.
Revenue · FY2026
$668.6M
p. 419 · matched to statement
Net income · FY2026
$104.0M
p. 419 · matched to statement
Where FY2026 revenue came from
43% royalties
initial-fee share not extracted
- Fiscal years covered: FY2024, FY2025, FY2026 (2026 FDD, statements from p. 419)
- Statements are for: THE CKE SECURITIZATION ENTITIES
- Parent / owner: not identified in the statements
| Fiscal year | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $661.6Mp. 388 · matched to statement | $671.4Mp. 388 · matched to statement | $668.6Mp. 419 · matched to statement |
| Royalty revenue | $292.7Mextracted · not cross-checked | $288.1Mextracted · not cross-checked | $285.3Mextracted · not cross-checked |
| Net income (loss) | $108.9Mp. 388 · matched to statement | $103.2Mp. 388 · matched to statement | $104.0Mp. 419 · matched to statement |
| Cash at year end | not extracted | $10.6Mp. 418 | $10.1Mp. 418 |
How to read this: royalties recur as long as franchisees trade; initial and development fees arrive only when new franchises are sold. A franchisor whose revenue leans on initial fees is funding itself by selling territories, and that revenue stops when sales slow. Under ASC 606 most franchisors recognize initial fees over the agreement term, so the line understates the cash collected in a strong selling year. Ad-fund revenue, where reported, is included in total revenue as the statements present it.
Each figure links to its page in the filed PDF. “Matched to statement” means our extraction and a second, rule-based read of the statement page agree; “extracted · not cross-checked” means the statement page is a scanned image or could not be read as text. Figures we could not place on a consistent scale are withheld, not guessed. Spotted an error? Report a correction.
Every figure above was extracted by software from the 2026 CARL'S JR FDD as filed (figures are not individually checked by a person) and links back to that document. Fields that could not be extracted are omitted; no figure here is estimated. Extraction errors are possible: the filing controls, and FDDs are reissued annually; verify against the current issuance before relying on any number. Spotted an error? Franchisors and owners can report it via the contact on our Terms page.
CARL'S JR FDD questions, answered
Where can I download the CARL'S JR FDD for free?
CARL'S JR's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is a public record, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). It can be downloaded free from the source link on this page — no broker form, no email signup required.
What year is CARL'S JR's most recent FDD on file?
The most recent CARL'S JR FDD tracked here is the 2026 FDD, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). Franchisors must update their FDD annually; confirm you are reading the current issuance before signing.
Does CARL'S JR's FDD 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 the basis fine print: franchisors choose which units and metrics to include.
What does CARL'S JR's FDD Item 20 show?
In fiscal 2026, CARL'S JR ended with 942 franchised outlets; 45 of 982 open at the start of the year left the system (exit rate 4.6%, fiscal 2026) through terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons".
The CARL'S JR validation checklist
questions built from this brand's own filings · read them all on the profile
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 usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing CARL'S JR’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.