McDonald's

"McD" redirects here. For other uses, see MCD (disambiguation) and McDonald (disambiguation).

For technical reasons, "McDonald's #1 Store Museum" redirects here. For the museum, see McDonald's No. 1 Store Museum.

McDonald's Corporation
Company typePublic
ISINUS5801351017
IndustryFast food restaurants, real estate
FoundedMay 15, 1940; 84 years ago (1940-05-15), in San Bernardino, California, United States
April 15, 1955; 69 years ago (1955-04-15)
(McDonald's Corporation)
FoundersRichard & Maurice McDonald
(original restaurant chain)
Ray Kroc
(McDonald's Corporation)
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
United States
Number of locations
Increase 41,822 restaurants (2023)
Area served
Worldwide (119+ countries)
Key people
Products
RevenueIncrease US$25.49 billion (2023)
Increase US$11.65 billion (2023)
Increase US$8.469 billion (2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$56.15 billion (2023)
Total equityNegative increase −US$4.71 billion (2023)
Number of employees
c. 150,000 (2023)
Websitemcdonalds.com
corporate.mcdonalds.com
Footnotes / references
[a][1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger stand and later turned the company into a franchise, with the Golden Arches logo being introduced in 1953 at a location in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1955, Ray Kroc, a businessman, joined the company as a franchise agent and, in 1961, bought out the McDonald brothers. Previously headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, it moved to nearby Chicago in June 2018.[9][10][11][12] McDonald's is also a real estate company through its ownership of around 70% of restaurant buildings and 45% of the underlying land (which it leases to its franchisees).[13][14]

McDonald's is the world's largest fast food restaurant chain by number of locations,[15] serving over 69 million customers daily in over 100 countries[16] in more than 40,000 outlets as of 2021.[17][18] McDonald's is best known for its hamburgers, cheeseburgers and french fries, although their menu also includes other items like chicken, fish, fruit, and salads. Their bestselling licensed item is their french fries, followed by the Big Mac.[19] The McDonald's Corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. McDonald's is the world's second-largest private employer with 1.7 million employees (behind Walmart with 2.3 million employees), the majority of whom work in the restaurant's franchises.[20][21]

McDonald's has been subject to criticism over the health effects of its products and its participation in various legal cases.


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  1. ^ Purdy, Chase (April 25, 2017). "McDonald's isn't just a fast-food chain—it's a brilliant $30 billion real-estate company". Quartz. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  2. ^ Maze, Jonathan (February 26, 2015). "Why McDonald's won't ever get rid of its real estate". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  3. ^ "Enrique Hernandez, Jr". McDonalds.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Bomkamp, Samantha (June 13, 2016). "Mcdonald's HQ Move Is Boldest Step Yet in Effort to Transform Itself". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference FY21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Why You're Technically Not Able To Order A Milkshake At McDonald's". Daily Meal. September 9, 2023. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "MCDONALDS CORP, 10-K". February 22, 2019. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "McDonald's Corporation 2023 Annual Report Form (10-K)". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. February 22, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  9. ^ "McDonald's future Near West Side neighbors air parking, traffic safety beefs". Chicago Tribune. June 23, 2016. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  10. ^ Hufford, Austen (June 14, 2016). "McDonald's to Move Headquarters to Downtown Chicago". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  11. ^ "McDonald's Headquarters Opening in West Loop, Offers Food From Around The World". April 24, 2018. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018 – via CBS Chicago.
  12. ^ "McDonald's Opens New Global Headquarters in Chicago's West Loop". July 4, 2018. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  13. ^ "Who Owns More Land: Bill Gates, McDonald's or The Catholic Church?". Yahoo! Finance. September 13, 2022. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  14. ^ Purdy, Chase (April 25, 2017). "McDonald's isn't just a fast-food chain—it's a brilliant $30 billion real-estate company". Quartz. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  15. ^ "McDonald's Is King Of Restaurants In 2017 – pg.1". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  16. ^ "McDonald's: 60 years, billions served". Chicago Tribune. April 15, 2015. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  17. ^ "MCDONALDS CORP, 10-K filed on 2/22/2019". Archived from the original on March 29, 2019.
  18. ^ "Data" (PDF). d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 12, 2017.
  19. ^ Harris, William (April 7, 2009). "10 Most Popular McDonald's Menu Items of All Time". HowStuffWorks. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  20. ^ "The World's Largest Employers". WorldAtlas. February 15, 2018. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  21. ^ "The world's 30 largest employers will surprise you". www.msn.com. June 29, 2018. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.