F45 Training FDD Item 19 is the section of the Franchise Disclosure Document where the franchisor may provide financial performance representations, meaning actual revenue data, average unit volumes, or other financial metrics that prospective franchisees can use to evaluate the investment. For a franchise requiring $299,950 to $549,950 in total investment with a 7% royalty and 2% advertising fee on gross sales, the financial performance data in Item 19 is perhaps the single most important piece of information a prospective franchisee can analyze. At Lopes Law LLC, we treat Item 19 analysis as the foundation of every F45 FDD review because it is the closest thing to an answer that exists for the most fundamental question every franchise buyer asks: how much money will I make?

F45 Training, the Australian-origin fitness franchise backed by celebrity investor Mark Wahlberg, has a financial history that demands careful scrutiny. The brand expanded rapidly, growing to approximately 1,700+ locations globally, but that expansion was followed by significant franchisee closures, multiple lawsuits from franchisees alleging financial misrepresentation, and corporate restructuring. When evaluating the financial performance data F45 provides in Item 19, prospective franchisees must understand not only what the numbers say but what they do not say, and how the brand’s history of closures creates statistical distortions that can make surviving studios appear more profitable than the average franchisee’s actual experience.

What Is FDD Item 19 and What Does F45 Training Disclose?

Item 19 of any Franchise Disclosure Document is titled “Financial Performance Representations.” Under the FTC Franchise Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 436), franchisors are not required to include financial performance data in Item 19. They may choose to leave the section blank with a statement that they do not make any financial performance representations. However, if they do include financial data, every claim must have a reasonable basis and be substantiated, and the franchisor must disclose the material assumptions underlying the data.

Whether F45 Training includes financial performance data in its current FDD version or leaves Item 19 blank, the analysis is critical. If data is provided, it needs to be dissected for survivorship bias, geographic skew, maturity distribution, and the distinction between gross revenue and actual owner earnings. If Item 19 is blank, the prospective franchisee must rely entirely on independent research, SBA loan performance data, and conversations with existing and former franchisees to develop a financial model.

Critically, if F45 sales representatives provide any financial information verbally, through earnings claims, pro formas, or projections that are not contained in Item 19 of the FDD, those representations may violate federal franchise disclosure rules. At Lopes Law LLC, we advise every F45 prospect to document any financial representations made during the sales process and cross-reference them against the official Item 19 disclosure.

How Does Survivorship Bias Affect F45 Training Financial Data?

Survivorship bias is the most important concept for evaluating F45 Training’s financial performance data. This statistical phenomenon occurs when performance data only includes units that are currently operating, thereby excluding the financial performance of units that have closed. Because F45 has experienced significant studio closures, this bias is not a minor statistical footnote. It is a fundamental distortion that can make the remaining studios appear substantially more profitable than the average F45 franchisee’s actual experience.

Here is how survivorship bias works in the F45 context:

• Studios that closed had lower revenue: Studios do not close randomly. They close because they could not generate enough revenue to cover expenses. When these low-revenue studios are removed from the data set, the average revenue of the remaining studios increases, even though nothing changed about the surviving studios’ performance.
• The magnitude of the distortion scales with closures: If F45 had zero closures, there would be no survivorship bias. But when a significant percentage of studios have closed, the gap between the reported average (survivors only) and the true average (all studios that ever operated) can be substantial.
• New franchisees compare themselves to survivors: A prospective franchisee looking at Item 19 data is seeing the performance of studios that made it. They are not seeing the performance of studios that failed, which is arguably more relevant for risk assessment.
• Median versus mean matters enormously: If the financial data reports mean (average) revenue, a small number of high-performing studios in major markets can pull the average well above what most studios experience. The median (middle value) is a more representative measure, but franchisors do not always report it.

How Does the 7% Royalty Affect F45 Studio Profitability?

Even if F45’s Item 19 data shows attractive gross revenue figures, the gap between gross revenue and actual owner earnings is where most franchise investments succeed or fail. The 7% royalty on gross sales, combined with the 2% advertising fund contribution, means that 9% of every dollar of revenue goes to the franchisor before the studio owner pays any operating expenses.

To illustrate the impact, consider a hypothetical F45 studio at different revenue levels:

Financial Metric	$35K/Month Studio	$50K/Month Studio	$70K/Month Studio
Annual Gross Revenue	$420,000	$600,000	$840,000
Royalty (7%)	($29,400)	($42,000)	($58,800)
Advertising (2%)	($8,400)	($12,000)	($16,800)
Technology Fees (est.)	($6,000-$12,000)	($6,000-$12,000)	($6,000-$12,000)
Rent (est. 12%)	($50,400)	($72,000)	($100,800)
Instructor Payroll (est. 25%)	($105,000)	($150,000)	($210,000)
Insurance, Utilities, Other (est.)	($36,000)	($42,000)	($48,000)
Estimated Owner Earnings	$184,800-$190,800 remaining	$276,000-$282,000 remaining	$400,600-$406,600 remaining
Owner Earnings Margin	~44-45%	~46-47%	~48%

These estimates are simplified and do not include debt service on the initial investment, local marketing expenses, equipment replacement, or owner compensation. Actual owner cash flow after all expenses and debt service will be significantly lower than these figures. For the $35,000 per month studio, after debt service on a $400,000 investment financed over 7 years at 8% interest (approximately $6,200 per month or $74,400 per year), the owner may be looking at net cash flow under $120,000 per year before taxes. And that assumes the studio consistently generates $35,000 per month, which many F45 locations do not achieve.

What Independent Data Sources Should F45 Prospects Research?

Because Item 19 data is provided by the franchisor and may be affected by survivorship bias, prospective F45 franchisees should research independent data sources to build a more complete picture:

• SBA loan performance data: The Small Business Administration publishes data on franchise loan defaults. This data provides an independent indicator of franchise viability because SBA-backed loans that default represent franchisees who could not generate enough cash flow to service their debt. For context, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit recorded 27 SBA loan defaults, and Patrice & Associates showed a 31% failure rate. Researching F45-specific SBA data provides a reality check against the franchisor’s own disclosures.
• Item 20 contact information: Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees. Contacting both current and former F45 franchisees provides firsthand financial performance information. Former franchisees who have left the system are particularly valuable sources because they can speak freely about their financial experience without fear of franchisor retaliation.
• Court filings and lawsuits: F45 has faced multiple franchisee lawsuits. Court filings in these cases often contain financial performance data, expert reports, and franchisee testimony about actual revenues and losses. These documents are public record and provide financial information that is not filtered through the franchisor’s disclosure process.
• Industry benchmarking: Compare F45’s financial model against other boutique fitness franchises. Orangetheory Fitness, Barry’s, Club Pilates, and other group fitness concepts provide competitive benchmarks. How does F45’s revenue per square foot, revenue per member, and cost structure compare to alternatives?
• Local market analysis: Research the specific market where you plan to operate. How many competing fitness concepts are within a 10-minute drive? What is the median household income? What is the population density? These local factors often matter more than system-wide averages.

What Are the Red Flags in F45 Financial Performance Analysis?

When analyzing F45 Training’s financial performance, whether through Item 19 data, independent research, or franchisee interviews, watch for these specific red flags:

• Revenue presented without expense context: Gross revenue figures are meaningless without an understanding of the expense structure. A studio generating $50,000 per month in gross revenue but paying 9% to F45, 12% to rent, 25% to payroll, and 10% to other expenses is keeping only 44% of revenue before debt service. If Item 19 presents revenue without cost data, the prospective franchisee must build their own expense model.
• Data from peak periods only: If the financial data covers a period when F45 was at the height of its popularity and expansion, it may not represent sustainable long-term performance. Post-pandemic fitness trends, increased competition, and market saturation can all reduce revenue below historical peaks.
• Insufficient breakout by geography or maturity: System-wide averages that combine studios in Manhattan with studios in secondary markets are not useful for site-specific decision making. Similarly, data that combines studios operating for five years with studios in their first year masks the ramp-up period that new franchisees will face.
• High variance in performance: If the difference between top-performing and bottom-performing studios is large, the average is not a reliable predictor. A system where the top quartile generates three times the revenue of the bottom quartile suggests that location, market, and operator quality matter far more than the brand itself.
• Discrepancy between Item 19 data and franchisee reports: If current and former franchisees describe financial performance that differs significantly from what Item 19 reports, this is a serious red flag that warrants deeper investigation.

How Should F45 Prospects Build a Realistic Financial Model?

Rather than relying solely on Item 19 data, prospective F45 franchisees should build an independent financial model that accounts for the full range of costs and risks:

Revenue Assumptions

• Model three scenarios: conservative (bottom quartile performance), moderate (median performance), and optimistic (top quartile performance). Make your investment decision based on the conservative scenario.
• Include a ramp-up period of 12 to 18 months during which revenue will be below the steady-state level. New studios need time to build membership, and the revenue during the ramp-up period will likely not cover expenses.
• Factor in membership attrition. Boutique fitness studios typically experience 3% to 5% monthly member churn, meaning you need a constant flow of new members just to maintain current revenue.

Expense Assumptions

• F45 fees: 7% royalty + 2% advertising = 9% of gross revenue, plus technology fees.
• Rent: typically 10% to 15% of revenue for boutique fitness, but varies significantly by market. Use the actual rent for your specific location.
• Instructor payroll: typically 20% to 30% of revenue, including taxes and benefits.
• Local marketing: plan for 3% to 5% of revenue for local advertising and promotions, separate from the F45 advertising fund contribution.
• Insurance, utilities, cleaning, supplies, equipment maintenance: plan for 8% to 12% of revenue.
• Debt service: if you are financing the investment, include monthly loan payments. A $400,000 SBA loan at 8% over 7 years is approximately $6,200 per month.

If the conservative revenue scenario does not generate positive cash flow after all expenses and debt service, the investment does not meet minimum viability standards. If you are already operating an F45 franchise and your financial performance does not match expectations, a franchise exit audit can help you evaluate your options for transfer, negotiation, or exit.

Why Legal Analysis of Item 19 Is Essential for F45 Prospects

Item 19 analysis is not just about reading numbers on a page. It requires understanding the statistical methods used, the data sets included and excluded, the assumptions underlying the representations, and how the data compares to independent sources. For F45 Training specifically, the brand’s history of significant closures, franchisee lawsuits alleging misrepresentation, and corporate upheaval makes professional analysis essential.

At Lopes Law LLC, our $3,000 flat-fee FDD validation review includes comprehensive Item 19 analysis with breakeven modeling, scenario analysis, royalty impact calculations, and comparison to independent data sources. We review F45 FDDs for franchisees nationally and can provide the financial context needed to make an informed investment decision.

Frequently Asked Questions About F45 Training FDD Item 19

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Last updated: March 11, 2026