Google vs McDonald's: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Google and McDonald's side by side

1. 1940McDonald's

   First McDonald's Opens in San Bernardino

   Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald's restaurant on May 15, 1940 in San Bernardino, California. The original drive-in gave the brothers a live operating laboratory before they stripped the model down to a faster, lower-cost menu.

2. 1948McDonald's

   Speedee Service System Introduced

   The brothers simplified operations in 1948 around 15-cent hamburgers, shakes, and fries.

3. 1955McDonald's

   Ray Kroc Opens Des Plaines Restaurant

   Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois on April 15, 1955 after becoming the brothers' franchise agent. That restaurant became the base for converting a California operating idea into a national franchise system.

4. 1961McDonald's

   Hamburger University Opens

   Hamburger University opened in the basement of an Elk Grove Village, Illinois restaurant in 1961. The training program mattered because it formalized the standards and operating routines that franchisees needed to deliver a consistent experience.

5. 1961McDonald's

   Kroc Buys the Brothers' Company

   McDonald's says it acquired the rights to the brothers' company in 1961 for $2.7 million. The deal gave Kroc control of the name and system, setting up the real estate-backed franchise model that later defined parent-company economics.

6. 1968McDonald's

   Big Mac Added to National Menu

   The Big Mac, developed by owner-operator Jim Delligatti of Pittsburgh, was added to the national menu in 1968. It became a durable core product and a recognizable signal of the company's ability to turn franchisee ideas into systemwide menu platforms.

7. 1975McDonald's

   Egg McMuffin Builds Breakfast

   The Egg McMuffin, created by owner-operator Herb Peterson of Santa Barbara, California, was added to the national menu in 1975. It helped turn breakfast into a major daypart rather than leaving the restaurants dependent on lunch and dinner traffic.

8. 1998Google

   Google Founded

   Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google after developing PageRank at Stanford University. The search engine ranked web pages by link authority, which made results feel more relevant than portal-era competitors.

9. 2000Google

   AdWords Launch

   Google launched AdWords in 2000 and connected advertising to search intent. Businesses could pay to appear near relevant queries, eventually through auction-based performance advertising.

10. 2003McDonald's

    I'm Lovin' It Campaign Launches

    McDonald's launched its global "I'm lovin' it" marketing campaign in 2003, its first worldwide brand campaign.

11. 2004Google

    Google IPO

    Google went public in 2004 using an auction process and priced 19,605,052 shares at $85, raising about $1.67B. The IPO gave the company capital for hiring, data centers, acquisitions, and global expansion.

12. 2005Google

    Android Acquisition

    Google acquired Android in 2005 to secure a role in mobile operating systems before smartphones became the main internet device. Android later gave Google global reach through manufacturers such as Samsung and many others.

13. 2006Google

    YouTube Acquisition

    Google closed the YouTube acquisition in 2006 for stock valued at $1.65B. The deal gave Google a user-generated video platform, creator ecosystem, and advertising surface outside text search before online video had a mature business model.

14. 2008Google

    DoubleClick Acquisition

    Google acquired DoubleClick for $3.1B to expand its advertising infrastructure beyond search. The deal strengthened display advertising, ad serving, and publisher relationships. It helped Google build a broader ad-tech stack.

15. 2014Google

    DeepMind Acquisition

    Google acquired DeepMind in 2014 to deepen its artificial intelligence research bench. DeepMind later became known for AlphaGo and other breakthroughs in reinforcement learning and scientific AI.

16. 2015Google

    Alphabet Restructuring

    Google restructured into Alphabet Inc. In 2015, separating core Google from Other Bets. The move gave investors clearer visibility into Search, YouTube, Android, and Cloud economics while preserving room for Waymo, Verily, Calico, and X.

17. 2017McDonald's

    Global McDelivery Day with UberEATS

    McDonald's marked Global McDelivery Day in 2017 to support the broader launch of McDelivery with UberEATS. Delivery expanded restaurant reach beyond the counter and drive-thru, while also adding packaging, marketplace-fee, and kitchen-throughput challenges.

18. 2019Google

    Sundar Pichai Becomes Alphabet CEO

    Sundar Pichai became CEO of Alphabet in 2019 after Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped back from daily operations. Pichai inherited a company facing cloud competition, antitrust scrutiny, privacy pressure, and rising AI expectations.

19. 2019McDonald's

    Dynamic Yield Acquisition

    McDonald's agreed to acquire Dynamic Yield in 2019 to personalize drive-thru menu boards, kiosks, and app experiences using signals such as time of day, weather, restaurant traffic, and trending items.

20. 2023Google

    Google DeepMind Integration

    Alphabet combined major AI research efforts under Google DeepMind to accelerate frontier model development. The move followed competitive pressure from OpenAI and Microsoft.

21. 2024McDonald's

    Quarter Pounder E. Coli Outbreak

    U.S. Public health agencies linked a 2024 E. Coli outbreak to slivered onions served on McDonald's Quarter Pounders in affected states.

22. 2025Google

    FY2025 Revenue Tops $402B

    Alphabet reported FY2025 revenue of $402.836B and net income of $132.170B. The milestone showed that Search ads, YouTube, Cloud, and subscriptions kept scaling despite regulatory and AI disruption concerns.

23. 2025McDonald's

    $26.9B FY2025 Revenue

    McDonald's reported $26.885 billion in FY2025 revenue and $8.563 billion in net income.

Acquisitions

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