McDonald's Corporation
Restaurants and franchisingFounded 1940- Updated June 2026
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Last reviewed: June 2026
CorpDigest
McDonald's Corporation
Financial Performance
Last reviewed: June 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Revenue
$26.9B
Market Cap
$217.0B
Net Income
$8.6B
Employees
150,000
McDonald's reported revenue of $23.18 billion in FY2022, $25.51 billion in FY2023, $25.92 billion in FY2024, and $26.89 billion in FY2025 — a consistent 4–8% annual growth trajectory driven by pricing, new unit openings, and the compounding royalty stream from a growing franchise base. The 31.9% net margin on $26.9 billion in revenue is the financial consequence of the royalty and rent model. The company earns before franchisees pay wages, food costs, utilities, and maintenance. Net income of $8.56 billion in FY2025 on a market capitalization of $217 billion implies roughly 25x earnings — a premium to the market that reflects both the quality of the cash flow and the scarcity of franchise businesses that operate at this margin level at this scale. The 210 million loyalty program users generating $37 billion in systemwide sales is the company's most undervalued financial asset. Each loyalty member's transaction history is a dataset that McDonald's uses for menu personalization, promotional pricing, and local market analytics. The $37 billion figure, representing roughly 27% of $139 billion in total systemwide sales, suggests that loyalty members are among the highest-frequency customers in the system. New unit economics remain attractive for franchisees despite the $1–2.5 million cost to build and equip a new location. The royalty and rent structure means that McDonald's corporate revenue grows with every new restaurant opened by a franchisee, without McDonald's bearing any of the construction cost. That capital efficiency — growing revenue without deploying capital — is the core mechanism behind the company's consistently high returns on invested capital.
Revenue Trend Analysis
YoY Change
+3.7%
8-Year CAGR
+2.1%
Peak Year
2025
Trend
Mostly Growing
McDonald's Corporation has reported revenue across 9 fiscal years, compounding at +2.1% annually over 8 years. The most recent year saw a 3.7% increase versus the prior year. Revenue peaked in 2025 at $26.9B. Out of 8 reported periods, 5 showed growth and 3 showed a decline.
| Fiscal Year | Revenue | Net Income | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $26.9B | $8.6B | +3.7% |
| FY2024 | $25.9B | — | +1.7% |
| FY2023 | $25.5B | — | +10.0% |
| FY2022 | $23.2B | — | -0.2% |
| FY2021 | $23.2B | — | +20.9% |
| FY2020 | $19.2B | — | -10.1% |
| FY2019 | $21.4B | — | +0.5% |
| FY2018 | $21.3B | — | -6.8% |
| FY2017 | $22.8B | — | — |
Source: SEC EDGAR filings, annual earnings releases, and verified financial disclosures.
Click any row to see year details.
McDonald's revenue trajectory reflects its deliberate shift to an asset-light model. Revenue peaked at approximately $27.4 billion in FY2013 when McDonald's owned more restaurants directly, then declined as Easterbrook's refranchising program converted company stores to franchises. FY2020 revenue fell to $19.2 billion due to COVID-19 dining room closures. Recovery was swift: FY2021 reached $23.2 billion, FY2022 $23.2 billion, and FY2025 $26.9 billion. Operating margins improved substantially through the refranchising era because high-revenue but low-margin company restaurant revenue was replaced by lower but higher-quality franchise fee and rent income. McDonald's consistently generates operating margins above 40%, a level almost impossible to achieve when operating thousands of restaurants. Net income in FY2025 was approximately $8.7 billion. The company also employs significant leverage: McDonald's carries over $35 billion in long-term debt, much of which funded share buybacks that have created a technically negative book equity but very high return on equity.
McDonald's is a capital-allocation-focused company. After funding capital expenditures (primarily restaurant reinvestment and technology), McDonald's returns the majority of free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The company has been a Dividend Aristocrat, increasing its dividend annually for over 45 consecutive years. In FY2025 McDonald's paid dividends of approximately $4.8 billion. Share buybacks have reduced the share count significantly over the past decade, supporting earnings-per-share growth even when net income is flat. The leverage-backed buyback strategy — borrowing cheaply to retire equity — has been one of the most value-creating capital allocation programs in consumer history, though it leaves the balance sheet sensitive to interest rate changes. McDonald's targets returning nearly all free cash flow to shareholders after maintaining its investment-grade credit rating.
McDonald's is one of the most recession-resistant consumer businesses in the world. During the 2008–2009 financial crisis, when most restaurant chains saw severe revenue declines, McDonald's comparable store sales actually increased. Consumers trading down from casual dining and fast-casual to McDonald's more than offset any demand erosion from economic stress. Revenue grew from approximately $22.8 billion in 2007 to $23.5 billion in 2008 and $22.7 billion in 2009. This counter-cyclical behavior reflects McDonald's position as the lowest-cost option in the organized restaurant market: when consumers tighten spending, McDonald's benefits from trade-down. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic was different because it imposed a supply-side shutdown (dining rooms closed), not a demand-side recession — making it the only major revenue disruption McDonald's has experienced in decades. Even then, the drive-thru channel allowed the business to operate through the most severe restrictions.
McDonald's operates across over 100 countries, providing geographic diversification that limits exposure to any single market's economic cycle. The U.S. is the largest single market, contributing approximately 40% of total revenues in recent years. International Operated Markets — primarily the UK, Germany, France, Canada, and Australia — contribute approximately 35–40%. International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate, which includes China, Japan (through a licensing arrangement), and other high-growth markets, contribute the remainder. This structure means U.S. macroeconomic downturns, minimum wage increases, or consumer boycotts affect McDonald's less than a purely domestic operator. However, it also introduces foreign currency risk: a strong U.S. dollar reduces the reported dollar value of international earnings. McDonald's FY2025 revenue of $26.9 billion reflects approximately 60% international origin, providing meaningful diversification against U.S.-specific headwinds.
Using these figures? Please credit CorpDigest with a link.
CorpDigest. "McDonald's Corporation Revenue & Financials." CorpDigest, https://corpdigest.com/company/mcdonalds/financials.<div style="font-family:system-ui,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5;border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:8px;padding:12px 16px;max-width:520px"><strong>McDonald's Corporation reported $27B in revenue (FY2025).</strong><br>Source: <a href="https://corpdigest.com/company/mcdonalds/financials" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CorpDigest — McDonald's Corporation financials</a></div>