AMD vs McDonald's: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
AMD reported $34.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $4.3B of net income. McDonald's reported $26.9B of revenue in FY2025 and $8.6B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
AMD
- Latest revenue
- $34.6B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $4.3B
- Net margin
- 12.5%
- Revenue growth
- +26.0% a year, FY2016–FY2025
McDonald's
- Latest revenue
- $26.9B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $8.6B
- Net margin
- 31.9%
- Revenue growth
- +1.0% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Financial summary
AMD
AMD's decade is a turnaround with a paper trail. Revenue fell to $4.0B in 2015 and the company lost $660M; its market value ended that year near $2.3B. Zen-based Ryzen and EPYC parts, and Intel's process delays, shifted the mix toward servers and then AI accelerators. FY2025 revenue was $34.6B, up 34% from $25.8B, with net income of $4.3B, a 50% gross margin, $8.1B of research and development spending, and $4.1B of marketing, general and administrative expense. Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments rose to $10.6B from $5.1B a year earlier, against $3.3B of total debt principal. The result also absorbed about $440M of net inventory and related charges tied to US export controls on Instinct MI308 products.
McDonald's
McDonald's corporate revenue ($26.885 billion in 2025, up 3.7%) is a fraction of the roughly $139 billion that customers spend across the system, because franchised restaurant sales are not booked as company revenue. What the company does book is mostly franchise rent and royalties, which explains net income of $8.563 billion in 2025 and operating margins well above typical restaurant operators. In Q2 2026, revenue rose 4% (2% in constant currency) to about $7.1 billion, diluted EPS was $3.32 ($3.38 adjusted), and systemwide sales grew 5% to $37 billion. The company returns most free cash flow through dividends, which it has raised every year since 1976, and share buybacks.
Revenue and profit by year
AMD
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $34.6B | $4.3B | 12.5% | +34.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $25.8B | $1.6B | 6.4% | +13.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | $22.7B | $854M | 3.8% | -3.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $23.6B | $1.3B | 5.6% | +43.6% | Source |
| FY2021 | $16.4B | $3.2B | 19.2% | +68.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $9.8B | $2.5B | 25.5% | +45.0% | Source |
| FY2019 | $6.7B | $341M | 5.1% | +4.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $6.5B | $337M | 5.2% | +23.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $5.3B | -$33M | -0.6% | +21.6% | Source |
| FY2016 | $4.3B | -$498M | -11.5% | — | Source |
McDonald's
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $26.9B | $8.6B | 31.9% | +3.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $25.9B | $8.2B | 31.7% | +1.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | $25.5B | $8.5B | 33.2% | +10.0% | Source |
| FY2022 | $23.2B | $6.2B | 26.6% | -0.2% | Source |
| FY2021 | $23.2B | $7.5B | 32.5% | +20.9% | Source |
| FY2020 | $19.2B | $4.7B | 24.6% | -10.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $21.4B | $6B | 28.2% | +0.5% | Source |
| FY2018 | $21.3B | $5.9B | 27.9% | -6.8% | Source |
| FY2017 | $22.8B | $5.2B | 22.8% | -7.3% | Source |
| FY2016 | $24.6B | $4.7B | 19.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
AMD
- Data Center~48%
EPYC server CPUs, Instinct AI accelerators, Pensando DPUs, AI network interface cards, FPGAs, and adaptive SoCs sold to cloud providers, enterprises, and HPC customers. Net revenue was $16.6B in FY2025, up 32%.
- Client and Gaming~42%
Ryzen desktop and notebook processors, chipsets, Radeon discrete GPUs, and semi-custom SoCs for PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Net revenue was $14.6B in FY2025, up 51%, with Client at $10.6B and Gaming at $3.9B.
- Embedded~10%
Xilinx-derived FPGAs, adaptive SoCs, system-on-modules, and embedded CPUs sold into telecommunications, aerospace, defense, automotive, and industrial markets. Net revenue was $3.5B in FY2025, down 3%.
McDonald's
- Franchise rent and royalties~45%
Franchise rent and royalties
- Company-operated restaurants~25%
Company-operated restaurants
- Licensing and delivery economics~15%
Licensing and delivery economics
Business model and strategy
AMD
How it makes money
Advanced Micro Devices runs a fabless semiconductor model. It designs CPUs, GPUs, AI accelerators, FPGAs, and adaptive SoCs, and contracts the wafer manufacturing to outside foundries, primarily TSMC. That structure keeps leading-edge fabrication off AMD's balance sheet and makes engineering its largest investment: research and development cost $8.1B in FY2025, about 23% of revenue.
Growth strategy
AMD's growth plan centers on data center AI, funded by $8.1B of research and development in FY2025. It has bought capability rather than waiting to build it: Xilinx in February 2022 for FPGAs and adaptive computing, a deal announced in October 2020 at about $35B in stock and worth roughly $49B at close; Pensando in May 2022 for DPUs at about $1.9B; Silo AI in August 2024 for AI software engineering at about $665M;
Competitive advantage
AMD's advantage is design and packaging execution without fab ownership. Because it buys capacity from TSMC instead of running leading-edge fabs, it can move to a newer process node as soon as the foundry has one in volume. Its chiplet approach assembles a processor from smaller dies linked by Infinity Fabric, which improves usable yield and makes high core-count parts cheaper to build than a single large die.
McDonald's
How it makes money
About 95% of McDonald's restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees or developmental licensees. The corporation makes money in three main ways: (1) rent, because it owns or leases the land and buildings at many franchised sites and charges franchisees rent, often tied to a percentage of sales; (2) royalties, a percentage of each restaurant's monthly sales;
Growth strategy
McDonald's growth plan, branded Accelerating the Arches, rests on marketing, core menu (burgers, chicken, coffee), and the 3 D's: digital, delivery, and drive-thru. The company targets roughly 50,000 restaurants worldwide by the end of 2027, with China, other developmental licensed markets, and the U.S. contributing the largest number of openings.
Competitive advantage
McDonald's advantage is scale that rivals cannot easily copy: more than 45,000 restaurants, control of prime real estate at many franchised sites, a long-tenured franchisee base that funds most store capital, and a supply chain that buys beef, potatoes, chicken, and packaging at volumes few chains match.
Questions about AMD vs McDonald's
Which company has higher revenue — Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or McDonald's Corporation?
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. reported $34.6B (FY2025), while McDonald's Corporation reported $26.9B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. is the larger business, with McDonald's Corporation reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. vs McDonald's Corporation?
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $999.5B, while McDonald's Corporation's is $175.7B. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to McDonald's Corporation.
Which is more financially efficient — Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or McDonald's Corporation?
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. generates $1.12M / employee in revenue per employee, while McDonald's Corporation generates $179k / employee. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and McDonald's Corporation make money?
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and McDonald's Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.: Advanced Micro Devices runs a fabless semiconductor model. McDonald's Corporation: About 95% of McDonald's restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees or developmental licensees.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or McDonald's Corporation?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. trades at 28.9x P/S and McDonald's Corporation at 6.5x P/S. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to McDonald's Corporation. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. bigger than McDonald's Corporation?
By last reported revenue, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ($34.6B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to McDonald's Corporation ($26.9B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the AMD vs McDonald's overview