Do we like them?

Do we like In-N-Out Burger?

Fast-food burger chain with drive-thrus and dine-in restaurants, based in Irvine, California, and expanding into other states.

Our score: 6 out of 10. A well-liked, privately held chain that keeps prices low and the menu simple. Its political giving and the move out of California give us pause, so we'd back it with some caution.

In-N-Out is a family-owned California burger chain, now run by president Lynsi Snyder. It has no outside shareholders, which is why it can keep its menu short and expand slowly into new states. It has kept that approach even as it opens new locations in several states.

Wages and prices have been the big theme. Fox Business reported that Snyder said she went 'toe-to-toe' with her VPs to keep costs down after California's fast-food minimum wage rise. Entrepreneur reported the chain still quietly raised menu prices 'incrementally'.

Politics has caused the chain trouble. In 2018, Fortune and LAist covered a $25,000 donation to the California Republican Party, and some customers called for a boycott. The company said it made equal contributions to both Democratic and Republican committees in California.

In 2025, Snyder said the company would move its headquarters out of California, and ABC7 reported the news set off controversy online. Law360 also reported a lawsuit from former workers over pay for putting on and taking off uniforms. We only saw the headline, so we don't know the outcome. We land in the middle, at 6.