What Five Guys does

Five Guys is a privately held American fast-casual restaurant chain founded in 1986 by Jerry and Janie Murrell in Arlington, Virginia, and operated today as Five Guys Enterprises, LLC, with corporate headquarters in the Washington, D.C. metro area (Lorton/Alexandria, VA). The company runs a hybrid corporate-and-franchise model under which more than 1,900 locations across 29 countries are operated, with North American franchise rights currently sold out and ongoing expansion driven by corporate openings and international franchise partners. Five Guys' core product is a tightly focused menu of hand-formed fresh-ground-beef burgers (80/20 chuck, no additives), hand-cut boardwalk-style fries cooked twice in 100% refined peanut oil, handspun milkshakes, all-beef hot dogs, sandwiches (including the now-permanent Patty Melt), and 15+ free toppings prepared fresh in-store daily. Revenue is generated through in-store sales, Olo-powered mobile and online ordering (order.fiveguys.com and native iOS/Android apps), third-party delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats, catering (15-sandwich minimum), Cashstar/Blackhawk-Network gift cards, branded merchandise through shopfiveguys.com, and the invite-only Five Guys Rewards Beta loyalty program.

Underlying technology is consumer-facing-light and operations-heavy. Order capture is delivered through Olo's platform (evidenced by the Android package com.fiveguys.olo.android), SoundHound AI for voice phone ordering, Google Pay at checkout, and Novatio Solutions' UiPath Test Suite for POS and Brink-reporting QA (reported 400% faster testing cycles). Back-end digital infrastructure holds ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 20000-1, ISO 22301, ISO 9001, and CSA STAR certifications, plus GDPR and CCPA-aligned privacy practices. The customer base is mass-consumer, individual-paid, with no disclosed B2B anchor customers; average revenue per store is not publicly disclosed, but system-wide scale is in the multi-billion-dollar range based on unit-count and headcount triangulation.

Name

Five Guys

Legal name

Five Guys Enterprises, LLC

Website

https://fiveguys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Five Guys is a privately held American fast-casual chain operating 1,900+ franchised and corporate restaurants across 29 countries, serving hand-formed burgers, hand-cut fries, milkshakes, and hot dogs to mass-market consumers through in-store, digital, and delivery channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fast-Casual Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Burger Fast Casual (THAFABAA)

Keywords

• Fast casual restaurants
• Handcrafted burgers
• Fresh cut fries
• Handspun milkshakes
• Burger restaurant chain

Headquarters

HQ city

Lorton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Core offering

Five Guys operates a global fast-casual restaurant chain serving made-to-order hand-formed beef burgers, twice-cooked hand-cut boardwalk fries in peanut oil, handspun milkshakes with free mix-ins, all-beef grilled hot dogs, and a small sandwich menu, all with 15+ free toppings prepared fresh in-store daily. Revenue is generated through dine-in, carryout, drive-thru, and digital channels (mobile app, order.fiveguys.com, SoundHound AI phone ordering), with ancillary income from catering, gift cards, and branded merchandise.

Product overview

Five Guys operates a single fast-casual restaurant brand with a tightly integrated product portfolio rather than a multi-brand platform. The customer-facing product surface is centered on the in-store dining experience plus a set of digitally enabled ordering and engagement modules: the Five Guys Mobile App and order.fiveguys.com online ordering (both powered by Olo), gift card and merchandise offerings (via Cashstar/Blackhawk Network and shopfiveguys.com), and a SoundHound AI-powered phone-ordering integration. The food and beverage core consists of Burgers, Fries, Milkshakes, Hot Dogs, Sandwiches, Drinks, and a wide Toppings module, with combo offerings (Classic Combo) and Catering extending the menu. Adjacent sub-products include the biennial Five Guys Games, the Five Guys Merchandise retail line, and the invite-only Five Guys Rewards Beta loyalty program. The company is privately held and is not developing a public developer API.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Five Guys Games: Biennial internal competition among Five Guys crew members featuring three events (potato race, cheese stack race, QC wrapping race) with a $100,000 grand prize, established in 2013 by the Murrell family.
• Five Guys Music
• Five Guys Shop
• Five Guys Rewards (Beta)

Products and services

• Burgers Hand-formed fresh beef patties made from 80/20 lean ground chuck with no additives or fillers, cooked well-done on a flat-top grill and served on toasted sesame seed buns with 15+ free toppings. Includes Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Bacon Burger, Bacon Cheeseburger, Little Hamburger, Little Cheeseburger, Little Bacon Burger, and Little Bacon Cheeseburger, plus the Patty Melt.
• Fries Fresh, hand-cut boardwalk-style potatoes sourced from northern U.S. growers, twice-cooked in 100% refined peanut oil. Available in Five Guys Style (lightly salted) or Cajun Style, served with an extra scoop by tradition since 1986, now served in biodegradable kraft paper fry bags.
• Milkshakes Handspun 16-oz milkshakes with a vanilla base and customizable free mix-ins including Blackberry (limited time), Coffee, Bananas, Strawberries, Oreo Cookies, Peanut Butter, Bacon, Oreo Crème, Salted Caramel, Reese's Cups, and Chocolate, topped with whipped cream.
• Hot Dogs All-beef hot dogs split lengthwise and grilled for caramelization, served on toasted buns with free toppings. Available as Hot Dog, Cheese Dog, Bacon Dog, and Bacon Cheese Dog.
• Sandwiches Non-burger, non-dog sandwich offerings including Patty Melt, Veggie Sandwich, Cheese Veggie Sandwich, BLT, Grilled Cheese, plus Egg & Cheese, Egg Sandwich, Bacon Egg & Cheese, and Egg & Bacon at select breakfast locations, with Burger Bowl and Lettuce Wrap options also available.
• Drinks Soft drinks dispensed through Coca-Cola Freestyle machines (100+ flavor combinations including Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Smart Water, Dr Pepper variants) plus bottled drinks such as 20 fl oz Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Simply Lemonade, Sprite, and Dasani. A select number of U.S. locations also serve beer and/or spirits.
• Catering Group ordering service available at participating Five Guys locations with a 15-sandwich minimum and 16 hours' advance notice required. Customers can choose from popular bundles or Build Your Own Box (BYOB) for corporate events, game day spreads, and office lunches.
• Gift Cards Physical and eGift cards in $5–$200 denominations, sold online via Cashstar/Blackhawk Network, in-store, and at retailers such as Target and Amazon. Cards never expire and are redeemable in-store or for online and app orders.
• Five Guys Merchandise Branded apparel, drinkware, bags, and accessories sold through shopfiveguys.com, including limited-edition lifestyle collaborations such as the Skinnydip London smartphone cases, earbud cases, tablet sleeves, sweatshirts, and T-shirts.
• Five Guys Mobile App Native iOS and Android applications for ordering ahead, customizing menu items, saving favorites, scheduling pickup, and accessing limited-time offers at participating Five Guys locations, built on the Olo ordering platform.
• Online Ordering (order.fiveguys.com) Web-based ordering platform for in-store pickup and delivery at participating Five Guys locations, powered by Olo. Fries and milkshakes are prepared on arrival to maximize freshness.

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Shake Shack: Public fast-casual burger chain with a comparable premium-ingredient, made-to-order model and global expansion ambitions. Most directly comparable peer in scale, positioning, and digital/loyalty investment approach.
• In-N-Out Burger: Privately held West Coast-focused burger chain emphasizing fresh, never-frozen beef and hand-cut fries. Comparable in menu philosophy and cult brand status, but with a much more limited geographic footprint.
• Whataburger: Privately held burger chain with a similar hand-crafted, made-to-order operating philosophy and strong regional brand loyalty. Comparable on product quality and franchise-led growth, though more regionally concentrated.
• Culver's: Privately held Midwest-focused fast-casual chain known for ButterBurgers and frozen custard. Comparable as a family-led, quality-focused burger brand with a loyal regional following and ongoing unit expansion.
• The Habit Burger Grill: Charbroiled burger fast-casual chain (Yum! Brands subsidiary) with comparable menu architecture (burgers, sandwiches, shakes) and a California-rooted fresh-prepped positioning. Direct competitor in the premium burger category.
• Smashburger: Fast-casual smash-burger concept with a similar made-to-order, premium-ingredient model and franchise-driven international growth. Direct competitor in burger fast-casual segment.

Broad incumbents

• Steak 'n Shake: Long-standing American burger chain focused on steakburgers and hand-dipped milkshakes. Comparable menu offerings (burgers, fries, shakes) but operates with a more traditional diner-style model and broader value positioning.
• Wendy's: Global QSR chain with a broad burger-led menu, ubiquitous delivery partnerships (DoorDash, Uber Eats), and aggressive digital/AI ordering investments. Overlaps with Five Guys in burger category but competes primarily on price and convenience rather than premium quality.

Emerging players

• BurgerFi: Public smaller-scale fast-casual burger chain emphasizing natural Angus beef and eco-friendly packaging. Comparable product positioning to Five Guys but at a materially smaller scale; potential niche competitor in fresh-prepped burger segment.

Others

• DoorDash: Major third-party delivery partner for Five Guys across the U.S. Not a competitor, but a strategic distribution channel whose economics (commission structure) materially impact Five Guys' delivery margin profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Five_Guys
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnPsCURqHlcoRt-Vr7nEaEg
• Facebookfacebook.com/fiveguys
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/five-guys-enterprises
• Instagraminstagram.com/fiveguys
• TikToktiktok.com/@fiveguys?lang=en

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Five Guys