McDonald's Corporation,

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain

Mixue Ice Cream & Tea Mixue Ice Cream & Tea () is a Chinese multinational fast-food restaurant chain specializing in ice cream & tea-based drinks. Founded in 1997 by Zhang Hongchao in Zhengzhou, Henan, Mixue has expanded rapidly, with over 46,000 franchised locations ...

. Brothers

Richard and Maurice McDonald Richard McDonald (February 16, 1909 – July 14, 1998) and Maurice “Mac" McDonald (1902 – December 11, 1971), collectively known as the McDonald brothers, were American entrepreneurs who founded the fast food company McDonald's. The brother ...

founded McDonald's in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

, in 1940 as a

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

stand, and soon franchised the company. The logo, the

Golden Arches The Golden Arches are the symbol of McDonald's, the global fast-food restaurant chain. Originally, real arches were part of the restaurant design. They were incorporated into the chain's logo in 1962, which resembled a stylized restaurant, and i ...

, was introduced in 1953. In 1955, the businessman

Ray Kroc Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman who was instrumental in turning McDonald's into the most successful global fast food corporation by revenue. He purchased it from the McDonald Brothers in ...

joined McDonald's as a franchise agent and bought the company in 1961. In the years since, it has expanded internationally. Today, McDonald's has over 50,000 restaurant locations worldwide, with around a quarter in the US. Other than food sales, McDonald's generates income through its ownership of 70% of restaurant buildings and 45% of the underlying land (which it leases to its franchisees). In 2018, McDonald's was the world's second-largest private employer with 1.7 million employees, behind

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

, the majority of whom work in the restaurant's franchises. McDonald's bestselling licensed items are their

French fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

and

Big Mac The Big Mac is a brand of hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced by a Greater Pittsburgh Region, Greater Pittsburgh area Franchising, franchisee in 1967 and expanded nationwide in 1968, and ...

hamburgers; other fare includes

cheeseburgers A cheeseburger is a hamburger with one or more slices of melted cheese on top of the meat patty, added near the end of the cooking time. Cheeseburgers can include variations in structure, ingredients and composition. As with other hamburgers, ...

, chicken, fish, fruit, and salads. McDonald's has been subject to criticism for its foods nutrition, animal welfare and low worker wages.

History

Origin

Siblings

, with the goal of making $1 million before they turned 50, opened the first McDonald's at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in

, on May 15, 1940.

Speedee Service System

The McDonald brothers introduced the "Speedee Service System" in 1948, putting into expanded use the principles of the modern

fast-food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

that predecessor White Castle had put into practice more than two decades earlier. When the brothers made the Speedee Service System, they fired their 20 carhops, removed their silverware and plates for paper wrappings and cups so that they no longer needed a

dishwasher A dishwasher is a machine that is used to clean dishware, cookware, and cutlery automatically. Unlike dishwashing, manual dishwashing, which relies on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot wat ...

, and simplified their menu to just nine items: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, three soft drink flavors in one 12-ounce size, milk, coffee,

potato chips Potato chips (North American English and Australian English; often just chip) or crisp (British English and Hiberno-English) are thin slices of potato (or a thin deposit of potato paste) that has been deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, ...

and

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

. “Our whole concept was based on speed, lower prices, and volume,” Richard McDonald later said.

Mascots

The original mascot of McDonald's was a hamburger-headed chef who was referred to as "Speedee". In 1962, the

replaced Speedee as the universal mascot.

Clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

mascot

Ronald McDonald Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, an ...

was introduced in 1963 to market the chain to children.

Ray Kroc

The present corporation credits its founding to franchised businessman

on April 15, 1955. This was the ninth opened McDonald's restaurant overall, although this location was destroyed in 1984 after the

San Ysidro McDonald's massacre The San Ysidro McDonald's massacre was a mass murder, which occurred at a McDonald's restaurant in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego, California, on July 18, 1984. The perpetrator, 41-year-old James Huberty, fatally shot 22 people, incl ...

. Kroc was recorded as being an aggressive business partner, driving the McDonald brothers out of the industry. Kroc and the McDonald brothers fought for control of the business, as documented in Kroc's autobiography. In 1961, he purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company and began the company's worldwide reach. The sale cost Kroc $2.7 million (worth almost $ in the current day). The San Bernardino restaurant was eventually torn down in 1971, and the site was sold to the Juan Pollo chain in 1998. This area serves as headquarters for the Juan Pollo chain, and a McDonald's and

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

museum. With the expansion of McDonald's into many international markets, the company has become a symbol of

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

and the spread of the American way of life.

Changes

In 1994, McDonald's banned smoking at the 1,400 locations it wholly owned. In 2006, McDonald's introduced its "Forever Young" brand by redesigning all of its restaurants. The restaurants were turned into cafe-esque space, being mostly terracotta, grey, and olive. The redesigned restaurants were also primary furnished with wood furniture. One McDonald's franchise owner described the new look as, "It’s personable. It’s friendly. It’s inviting." As a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, McDonald's closed most seating and all play areas in its United States restaurants. It transitioned to drive-through and curbside orders at locations and

online food ordering Online food ordering is the process of ordering food, for Food delivery, delivery or pickup, from a website or other application. The product can be either ready-to-eat food (e.g., direct from a home-kitchen, restaurant, or a virtual restaurant) ...

delivery services.

Products

. The company often introduces items temporarily or brings them back after long absences. In addition, the chain also sells some items within the United States on a regional basis; for example, the Hatch Green Chile Double Cheeseburger, which is topped with New Mexico green chile, is only available in the southwestern state of

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. In 2021, the company cut value meals and cheaper items from its menu as part of a focus on higher-priced items.

McValue Meal Deal

The McValue Meal, which has four items and was created in 2024. The meal deal is in the McValue menu and costs $5. It was created to be a

budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...

friendly meal on the McValue menu.

Health improvements

When Steve Easterbrook became CEO of the company in 2015, McDonald's streamlined the menu which in the United States contained nearly 200 items. The company looked to introduce healthier options and removed

high-fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose, and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzy ...

from hamburger buns. The company removed artificial preservatives from

Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets are a type of chicken nuggets sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. They consist of small pieces of reconstituted boneless chicken meat that have been battered and deep fried. Chicken McNuggets w ...

, replacing chicken skin, safflower oil and citric acid found in Chicken McNuggets with pea starch, rice starch, and powdered lemon juice. In September 2018, McDonald's USA announced that they no longer use artificial preservatives, flavors and colors entirely from seven classic burgers sold in the U.S., including the hamburger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, McDouble, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, double Quarter Pounder with Cheese and the Big Mac. Nevertheless, the pickles will still be made with an artificial preservative, although customers can choose to opt out of getting pickles with their burgers.

McPlant

In November 2020, McDonald's announced McPlant, a plant-based burger, along with plans to develop additional meat alternative menu items that extend to chicken substitutes and breakfast sandwiches. This announcement came after the successful testing of

Beyond Meat Beyond Meat, Inc. is a producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. The company went public in 2019, becoming the first plant-based meat ana ...

plant based meat substitutes. In late 2022, McDonald's announced the addition of the Double McPlant at all restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland starting January 4 due to the success of the McPlant. In 2024, select McDonald's in the UK were testing vegan ice cream called Choco Scoop and Strawberry Scoop and receiving positive reviews.

International menu variations

Asia

McDonald's Menu is customized to reflect consumer tastes in their respective countries. Restaurants in several countries, particularly in Asia, serve

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...

. This local deviation from the standard menu is a characteristic for which the chain is particularly known and one which is employed either to abide by regional

food taboo Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the mea ...

s (such as the religious prohibition of beef consumption in India) or to make available foods with which the regional market is more familiar (such as the sale of McRice in Indonesia, or Ebi (prawn) Burger in Singapore and Japan). McDonald's restaurants in China include fried buns and soybean milk on their breakfast menus. In partnership with the

Central Food Technological Research Institute The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) is an Indian food research institute and laboratory headquartered in Mysore, India. It is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. India is the wor ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, McDonald's has introduced

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

-based

bun A bun is a type of bread that is round and small enough that it can generally be eaten hand-held. Whether a bun is considered sweetened or unsweetened differs between countries: it is considered sweetened in the United Kingdom, a savory bread in ...

s on September 4, 2024. Three major (

Pearl millet Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum'') is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times. The center of diversity, and ...

Sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

, and

Finger millet Finger millet (''Eleusine coracana'') is an Annual plant, annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and Semi-arid climate, semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and Self-pollination, self-pollinating speci ...

) and two minor ( Proso and ''

Paspalum scrobiculatum ''Paspalum scrobiculatum'', commonly called kodo millet or koda millet,A. E. Grant (1898), "Poisonous Koda millet". Letter to ''Nature'', volume 57, page 271.Harry Nelson Vinall(1917), ''Foxtail Millet: Its Culture and Utilization in the United S ...

'') millets are used which makes up 22% of the bun. It provides more calcium, iron, and protein in addition to a small amount of complex carbs to aid in satiety more quickly.

Europe and New Zealand

In France, McDonald's is called McDo. They sell

macaroons A macaroon ( ) is a small cake or cookie, originally made from ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, but now often with coconut or other nuts. They may also include jam, chocolate, or other flavorings. Etymology The name ''macaroon'' is b ...

, Croque McDos,

croissants A croissant (, ) is a French pastry in a crescent shape made from a laminated yeast dough similar to puff pastry. It is a buttery, flaky, '' viennoiserie'' pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian '' kipferl'', but using the French yeast ...

pain au chocolat ''Pain au chocolat'' (, ), also known as ''chocolatine'' () in the south-west part of France and in French language, French speaking parts of Canada, ''couque au chocolat'' in Belgium, or ''chocolate croissant'' in the United States, is a type ...

, and

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

. In Germany and some other Western European countries, McDonald's also sells beer. In New Zealand, until 2020, McDonald's sold

meat pies A meat pie is a pie baked with pastry with a filling of meat and often other savory ingredients. They are found in cuisines worldwide. Meat pies are usually baked, fried, or deep-fried to brown them and develop the flavour through the Mail ...

after local affiliate

McDonald's New Zealand McDonald's Restaurants (New Zealand) Limited (also trading as "Macca's") is the New Zealand subsidiary of the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. Its first location opened in 1976. In 2017 McDonald's New Zealand had 167 restaur ...

partially relaunched the

Georgie Pie Georgie Pie was a fast food chain owned by retailer Progressive Enterprises specialising in meat pies that hoped to be New Zealand’s own homegrown alternative to the global fast-food industry giants such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Burge ...

fast food chain it bought out in 1996. In Greece, the signature hamburger, Big Mac, is changed by adding Tzatziki sauce and packaging in a pita.

North America

In the United States and Canada, after limited trials on a regional basis, McDonald's began offering in 2015 and 2017, respectively, a partial breakfast menu during all hours its restaurants were open. All-day breakfast was phased out from menus at the start of the

in 2020.

Types of McDonald's locations and McDonald's subsidies

In the United States, most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both

counter service The foodservice (US English) or catering (British and Commonwealth English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, grocery stores, school and hospital cafeteri ...

and

drive-through A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word through), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products (or use the service provided by the business) without leaving their c ...

service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating. In 1994, McDonald's attempted Hearth Express, a prototype specializing in homestyle takeout meals. Among the fare offered were meatloaf, fried chicken, and baked ham. This experiment started with a single location in

Darien, Illinois Darien (formerly Cass) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 22,011. A southwestern suburb of Chicago, Darien was named after the town of Darien, Connecticut. Darien is just north of I-5 ...

but closed after one year.

McDrive

Drive-Thru, Auto-Mac, Pay and Drive, or "McDrive" as it is known in many countries, often has separate stations for placing, paying for, and picking up orders while the customer remains in their vehicle; it was first introduced in Sierra Vista, Arizona in 1975, following the lead of other fast-food chains. The first such restaurant in Britain opened at

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a bustling area of Manchester with a population of 14,869 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east&n ...

, Manchester, in 1986. In some countries, McDrive locations near

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

s offer no counter service or seating. In contrast, locations in high-density city neighborhoods often omit drive-through service. There are also a few locations, mostly in downtown districts, that offer a "Walk-Thru" service in place of Drive-Thru.

McCafé

McCafé is a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

-style accompaniment to McDonald's restaurants. The concept was created by McDonald's Australia, starting with

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1993. McDonald's discontinued three of its bakery items: the apple fritter, blueberry muffin, and

cinnamon roll A cinnamon roll (also known as cinnamon bun, cinnamon swirl, cinnamon scroll, cinnamon Danish and cinnamon snail) is a sweet roll commonly served in Northern Europe (mainly in Nordic countries, but also in Austria, Estonia, The Netherlands and ...

, in 2023.

McDonald's Next

McDonald's Next uses open-concept design and offers "Create Your Taste" digital ordering. The concept store also offers free mobile device charging and table service after 6:00 pm. The first store opened in Hong Kong in December 2015. The buildings are not colorful, and instead use more natural colors, like from

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

and unpolished oak.

PlayPlaces

McDonald's playgrounds used to be called Playlands and were outside. After concerns were raised that the playgrounds were dangerous, McDonald's moved them inside and began to make them out of softer

material A material is a matter, substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an Physical object, object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical property, physical ...

s, such as plastic instead of metal. They renamed them PlayPlaces in 1987.

McExpress and McStop

Some locations are connected to

gas station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

s and convenience stores, while others called McExpress have limited seating or menu or may be located in a shopping mall. Other McDonald's are located in

stores. McStop is a location targeted at truckers and travelers who may have services found at

truck stop A truck stop (known as a service station in the United Kingdom, a travel center by major chains in the United States and a roadhouse in rural Australia) is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made f ...

CosMc's

In July 2023, the company announced it was working toward a new fast-food brand called CosMc's, which would be tested at 10 sites. The first location was opened in December 2023 in

Bolingbrook, Illinois Bolingbrook is a village in Will County, Illinois, Will and DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago on Interstate 55 in Illinois, I-55 and U.S. Route 66 in Illinois, Historic Rou ...

. The outlet had a smaller real-estate footprint than regular McDonald's restaurants and focused on selling coffee and other drinks to afternoon customers. The name for the new brand came from CosMc, a McDonaldland mascot that appeared in advertisements in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although four additional locations were eventually opened in Texas, McDonald's announced in May 2025 that all locations would be shuttered and the associated app removed by the end of June of that year. Some CosMc’s beverage flavors will be tested in other U.S. McDonald’s locations.

Corporate overview

Statistics

McDonald's restaurants are in 120 countries and territories and serve 68 million customers daily. There are 41,800 McDonald's locations as of 2023, and 45,000 employees in the United States. The McDonald's on-demand delivery concept, which began in 2017 with a partnership with

Uber Eats Uber Eats is an online food ordering and delivery platform launched by the company Uber in 2014. It is operational in over 6,000 cities in 45 countries as of 2021. History Uber Eats' parent company Uber was founded in 2009 by Garrett ...

and added

DoorDash DoorDash, Inc. is an American company operating online food ordering and food delivery. It trades under the symbol DASH. With a 56% market share, DoorDash is the largest food delivery platform in the United States. It also has a 60% market sha ...

in 2019 (with select locations adding

Grubhub Grubhub Inc. (stylized in all caps) is an American online and mobile prepared food ordering and delivery platform based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2004, it was a subsidiary of the Dutch company Just Eat Takeaway since 2021. In 2024, Wond ...

in 2021), accounts for up to 3% of all business as of 2019. The $100 billion in sales generated by McDonald's company-owned and franchise restaurants in 2019 accounts for almost 4% of the estimated $2.5 trillion global restaurant industry.

Stock holdings

Focusing on its core brand, McDonald's began divesting itself of other chains it had acquired during the 1990s. The company owned a majority stake in

Chipotle Mexican Grill Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. ( ), often known simply as Chipotle, is an American multinational chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. As of March 31, 2025, C ...

until October 2006, when McDonald's fully divested from Chipotle through a stock exchange. Until December 2003, it owned

Donatos Pizza Donatos Pizza, LLC is a Columbus-style pizza restaurant chain headquartered in Gahanna, Ohio, United States. It is a pizza delivery franchisor with nearly 200 locations in twelve states, the majority of them being in Ohio. Additionally, Don ...

, and it owned a small share of Aroma Café, from 1999 to 2001. On August 27, 2007, McDonald's sold

Boston Market Boston Market Corporation, known as Boston Chicken until 1995, is an American fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Newtown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Newtown Township, Pennsylvania. Since 2020, it has been owned by Engage Bra ...

Sun Capital Partners Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Sun Capital was founded in 1995 by Marc J. Leder and Rodger Krouse, former classmates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and ...

. McDonald's has increased shareholder dividends for 25 consecutive years, making it one of the

S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats is a stock market index composed of the companies in the S&P 500 index that have increased their dividends in each of the past 25 consecutive years. It was launched in May 2005. There are other indexes of dividen ...

. The company is ranked 131st on the ''Fortune'' 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue. In October 2012, its monthly sales fell for the first time in nine years. In 2014, its quarterly sales fell for the first time in seventeen years, when its sales dropped for the entirety of 1997.

Monetary loss

In the United States, it is reported that drive-throughs account for 70 percent of sales. McDonald's closed down 184 restaurants in the United States in 2015, which was 59 more than what they planned to open. This move was the first time McDonald's had a net decrease in the number of locations in the United States since 1970. In the first three months of 2025, as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans began to be unveiled and implemented, McDonald's revenue in the US fell 3.6% compared to the previous year, the largest sales decline in the US since the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Business trends

Business model

Ownership

McDonalds owns the land on which many of its restaurants are situated, which is valued at an estimated $42 billion. The company earns a significant portion of its revenue from rental payments from franchisees. These rent payments rose 26 percent between 2010 and 2015, accounting for one-fifth of the company's total revenue at the end of the period. In recent times, there have been calls to spin off the company's U.S. holdings into a potential

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT, pronounced "reet") is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of real estate, including office and apartment buildings, studios, warehouses, hos ...

, but the company announced at its investor conference on November 10, 2015, that this would not happen. CEO Steve Easterbrook discussed that pursuing the REIT option would pose too large a risk to the company's business model. McDonald's trains its franchisees and management at one of the Hamburger Universities. As of 2015, the Hamburger Universities reside in Oak Brook,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In other countries, McDonald's restaurants are operated by joint ventures of McDonald's Corporation and other, local entities or governments.

Workers

According to ''

Fast Food Nation ''Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal'' is a 2001 book by Eric Schlosser. First serialized by ''Rolling Stone'' in 1999, the book has drawn comparisons to Upton Sinclair's 1906 muckraking novel ''The Jungle''. The book wa ...

'' by

Eric Schlosser Eric Matthew Schlosser (born August 17, 1959) is an American journalist and food writer. He is known for his books '' Fast Food Nation'' (2001), '' Reefer Madness'' (2003), and '' Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and ...

(2001), nearly one in eight workers in the U.S. have at some time been employed by McDonald's. Employees are encouraged by McDonald's Corp. to maintain their health by singing along to their favorite songs to relieve stress, attending

church service A church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal Christian worship, worship, often held in a Church (building), church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Su ...

s to have a lower

blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of Circulatory system, circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term ...

, and taking two vacations annually to reduce the risk for

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. ''Fast Food Nation'' states that McDonald's is the largest private operator of playgrounds in the U.S., as well as the single largest purchaser of beef, pork, potatoes, and apples. The selection of meats McDonald's uses varies to some extent based on the host country's culture.

Headquarters

On June 13, 2016, McDonald's confirmed plans to move its global headquarters to Chicago's West Loop neighborhood in the Near West Side. The 608,000-square-foot structure opened on June 4, 2018, and was built on the former site of

Harpo Productions Harpo Productions (or Harpo Studios) is an American multimedia Film production, production company (law), company founded by Oprah Winfrey and based in West Hollywood, California. The name "Harpo" is "Oprah" anadrome, spelled backwards, and it w ...

. The McDonald's former headquarters complex, McDonald's Plaza, is in

Oak Brook, Illinois Oak Brook is a village (Illinois), village in DuPage County, Illinois, with a very small portion in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County. The population was 8,163 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Chicago, it contains th ...

. It sits on the site of the former headquarters and stabling area of Paul Butler, the founder of Oak Brook. McDonald's moved into the Oak Brook facility from an office within the

Chicago Loop The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...

in 1971.

Board of directors

, the board of directors had the following members: *

Chris Kempczinski Christopher John Kempczinski is an American business executive, and the president, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of McDonald's Corporation. Early life and education Christopher John Kempczinski was born in Boston, and raised in Cin ...

; chairman and CEO of McDonald's * Anthony G. Capuano, CEO of

Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging brands that include hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. Marriott International owns over 37 ho ...

Kareem Daniel Kareem Daniel is an American businessman and former media executive at The Walt Disney Company. During his tenure at Disney, he held executive roles in charge of film and television, sports, streaming, theme parks, and consumer products. Prior ...

, former chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution * Lloyd H. Dean, president and CEO of

Dignity Health Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) was a California-based not-for-profit public-benefit corporation that operated hospitals and ancillary care facilities in three states. Dignity Health was the fifth-largest hospital system in t ...

* Catherine M. Engelbert, commissioner of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

* Margo Georgiadis, former CEO of

Ancestry.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

* Mike Hsu, chairman and CEO of

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational consumer goods and personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimb ...

* John J. Mulligan, executive vice president and COO of

Target Corporation Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a component of th ...

* Jennifer L. Taubert, Executive Vice President and Worldwide Chairman, Innovative Medicine, Johnson & Johnson * Paul S. Walsh, executive chairman of

McLaren Group McLaren Group Limited ( ) is a British holding company based in Woking, England, which is involved in Formula One and other motorsport and the manufacture of sports cars. The group was founded by Ron Dennis shortly after his acquisition of the ...

* Amy E. Weaver, President and Chief Financial Officer of

Salesforce Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, e-commerce, analytics, artificial intelligence, and ap ...

* Miles D. White, chairman and CEO of

Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, in the United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate k ...

Steve Easterbrook was CEO and president of McDonald's from 2015 to 2019, replacing the old CEO Don Thompson. McDonald's board of directors voted to remove Easterbrook as CEO since he had violated corporate policies on personal conduct by entering into a relationship with a company employee. He was replaced as CEO by

, who had been president of McDonald's USA. In August 2022, McDonald's announced significant changes to its board. It said that existing director Sheila Penrose, chair of JLL Inc., would retire and that Anthony Capuano, CEO of

, executive vice president and worldwide chairman of pharmaceuticals Jennifer Taubert of

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

, and Amy Weaver president and CFO of

would join. The changes were unrelated to an effort by

activist investor Shareholder activism is a form of activism in which shareholders use Equity (finance), equity stakes in a corporation to put pressure on its management. A fairly small stake (less than 10% of outstanding shares) may be enough to launch a successfu ...

Carl Icahn Carl Celian Icahn (; born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and investor. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach, ...

Ownership

Global operations

International influence

McDonald's has become emblematic of

, sometimes referred to as the "

McDonaldization McDonaldization is the process of a society adopting the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. The McWord concept was proposed by sociologist George Ritzer in his 1993 book '' The McDonaldization of Society''. McDonaldization is a reconce ...

" of society. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' newspaper uses the "

Big Mac Index The Big Mac Index is a price index published since 1986 by ''The Economist'' as an informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity (PPP) between two currency, currencies and providing a test of the extent to which market exchange rates re ...

": the comparison of the cost of a

in various world

currencies A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or currency in circulation, circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use wi ...

can be used to informally judge these currencies'

purchasing power parity Purchasing power parity (PPP) is a measure of the price of specific goods in different countries and is used to compare the absolute purchasing power of the countries' currency, currencies. PPP is effectively the ratio of the price of a market bask ...

. Switzerland has the most expensive Big Mac in the world as of July 2015, while the country with the least expensive Big Mac is India (albeit for a Maharaja Mac—the next cheapest Big Mac is Hong Kong). The northernmost McDonald's restaurant in the world is located in

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

, Finland (after the restaurant in

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

, Russia was closed in 2022), however from January 2024 this had changed again as McDonald's opened a new restaurant in

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

, Norway. And the southernmost in the world is located in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

, New Zealand.

Thomas Friedman Thomas Loren Friedman ( ; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global ...

said that no country with a McDonald's had gone to war with another. McDonald's suspended operations in its corporate-owned stores in Crimea after Russia annexed the region in 2014. On August 20, 2014, as tensions between the United States and Russia strained over the Russian annexation of Crimea, and the resultant U.S. sanctions, the Russian government temporarily shut down four McDonald's outlets in Moscow, citing sanitary concerns. The company has operated in Russia since 1990 and, in August 2014, had 438 stores across the country. On August 23, 2014, Russian Deputy Prime Minister

Arkady Dvorkovich Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich (; born 26 March 1972) is a Russian politician and economist, currently serving as the president of the International Chess Federation, FIDE. He was Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet from 21 Ma ...

ruled out any government move to ban McDonald's and dismissed the notion that the temporary closures had anything to do with the sanctions. Some observers have suggested that the company should be given credit for increasing the service standard in markets it enters. A group of anthropologists in a study entitled ''Golden Arches East'' looked at McDonald's impact on East Asia and Hong Kong, particularly. When it opened in Hong Kong in 1975, McDonald's was the first restaurant to consistently offer clean restrooms, driving customers to demand the same of other restaurants and institutions. McDonald's has partnered with

Sinopec China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Group, is a Chinese oil and gas enterprise based in Chaoyang District, Beijing. The SASAC administers China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation for the benefit of State Council of the ...

, the second-largest oil company in the People's Republic of China, as it takes advantage of the country's growing use of personal vehicles by opening numerous drive-through restaurants.

Global activities

In Beijing, China, McDonald's restaurants are

state-owned enterprises A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

operating according to franchise agreements. Beijing Capital Agricultural Group owns these franchises. McDonald's has opened a McDonald's restaurant and McCafé on the underground premises of the French fine arts museum,

The Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. The company opened vegetarian-only restaurants in India. The first one opened in 2012 at

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

, India. On January 9, 2017, 80% of the franchise rights in mainland China and Hong Kong were sold for US$2.08 billion to a consortium of

CITIC Limited CITIC Limited () is a conglomerate headquartered in Hong Kong. Its shares are listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and it is a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. 58% of its issued shares are owned by the Chinese state-own ...

(for 32%). Private equity funds managed by

CITIC Capital CITIC Capital () is a Chinese alternative investment firm founded in 2002 that is headquartered in Hong Kong. Background CITIC Capital was founded on 4 February 2002 originally as CITIC Capital Markets, an investment banking joint venture b ...

(for 20%) and Carlyle (for 20%), which CITIC Limited and CITIC Capital would form a joint venture to own the stake. On the river

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

in Hamburg, Germany, is the world's only "McBoat", a float-through service (similar to

) for people on the river. In Sweden, Happy Meal boxes can be used as goggles, with the game ''Slope Stars''. In the Netherlands, McDonald's has introduced McTrax that doubles as a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

; it reacts to touch. They can create their own beats with a

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

and tweak sounds with special effects. In March 2022, McDonald's closed and sold their 850 locations in Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. Approximately nine percent of global revenue and three percent of operating profit had come from Russia and the 100 locations in Ukraine. They sold the restaurants to a Russian buyer under the condition that the locations would not use the McDonalds branding. The new stores were rebranded as Vkusno i tochka, beginning to reopen in June. Later in 2022, the 25 McDonald's restaurants in Belarus rebranded as Vkusno i tochka and operations were suspended in Kazakhstan due to issues supplying minced meat from Russia. They rebranded the following year. During the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, McDonald's branches in Muslim countries were boycotted after McDonald's branches in Israel provided free meals to the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, who had been accused of committing

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

. McDonald's in some countries distanced themselves from the actions of McDonald's Israel. As a result, McDonald's bought all 225 Israeli franchise-owned restaurants.

McDonald's employee relations

United States

Technology uses

Since the late 1990s, McDonald's has attempted to replace employees with electronic kiosks that would perform actions such as taking orders and accepting money. In 1999, McDonald's first tested "E-Clerks" in suburban Chicago, Illinois, and

Wyoming, Michigan Wyoming is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 76,501 at the 2020 census. Wyoming is the second most-populated community in the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is bordered by Grand Rapids on the northea ...

, with the devices being able to "save money on live staffers" and attracting larger purchase amounts than average employees. In 2013, the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

estimated that in the succeeding decades, there was a 92% probability of food preparation and serving becoming automated in fast food establishments. By 2016, McDonald's "Create Your Taste" electronic kiosks were seen in some restaurants internationally where customers could custom order meals. In 2017, McDonald's launched an app in the United States that allows customers to skip the ordering line inside or drive through and order online. Many McDonald's locations have special parking spaces for such orders. In September 2019, McDonald's purchased an AI-based start-up, Apprente, to replace human servers with voice-based technology in its US drive-throughs. In early 2023, McDonald's opened its first largely automated restaurant in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. The restaurant in question would de-emphasize human contact when ordering, with employees available if there were problems but who would otherwise be absent from the ordering process (along with others working in the kitchen or other back-of-the-house roles). There was no seating in this restaurant.

Worker complaints

In March 2015, McDonald's workers in 19 U.S. cities filed 28 health and safety complaints with the U.S.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

, which allege that low staffing, lack of protective gear, poor training, and pressure to work fast resulted in injuries. The complaints allege that, because of a lack of

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

supplies, workers were told by management to treat burn injuries with condiments such as

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

and

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

. The Fight for $15 labor organization aided the workers in filing the complaints. The

Roosevelt Institute The Roosevelt Institute is a liberal American think tank headquartered in New York City. History and overview The Roosevelt Institute was created in 1987 through the merger of the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four ...

, a liberal

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

, accuses some McDonald's restaurants of actually paying less than the minimum wage to entry positions due to "rampant"

wage theft Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law. It can be conducted by employers in various ways, among them are failing to pay overtime; violating minimum wage, minimum-wage laws; the m ...

France

Workers at the McDonald's franchise at Saint-Barthélémy,

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, occupied the restaurant in protest against its planned closure. Employing 77 people, the restaurant is the second-biggest private sector employer in Saint-Barthélémy, which has an unemployment rate of 30 percent. Lawyers for Kamel Guemari, a shop steward at the franchise, claimed an attempt was made to kill him when a car drove at him in the restaurant car park.

South Korea

In South Korea, McDonald's pays part-time employees $5.50 an hour and is accused of paying less with arbitrary schedule adjustments and pay delays.

United Kingdom

As of 2013, 90% of McDonald's UK workforce were on

zero-hour contract A zero-hour contract is a type of employment contract in United Kingdom labour law, between an employer and an employee whereby the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum number of working hours to the employee. In 2015, employers in the ...

s, making it potentially the largest such private sector employer in the country. In April 2017, after workers engaged in labor strke, all employees were given the option of fixed contracts. From 2007 to 2011, fast food workers in the U.S. drew an average of $7 billion of

public assistance Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance pr ...

annually resulting from receiving low wages. The McResource website advised employees to break their food into smaller pieces to feel fuller, seek refunds for unopened holiday purchases, sell possessions online for quick cash, and "quit complaining" as "stress hormone levels rise by 15 percent after ten minutes of complaining." In December 2013, McDonald's shut down the McResource website amidst negative publicity and criticism. McDonald's plans to continue an internal telephone help line through which its employees can obtain advice on work and life problems. In September 2017, two British McDonald's stores agreed to a strike over zero-hours contracts for staff. Picket lines were formed around the two stores in

Crayford Crayford is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South London, South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the Historic countie ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. The strike was supported by then

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

Criticism

McDonald's has been criticized for numerous aspects of its business, including its products' health effects, employees' treatment, and other business practices. In 2001,

's book ''

'' criticised aspects of McDonald's business practices, particularly around its political lobbying and criticism of the business practices of McDonald's, particularly concerning its use of political influence and targeting advertisements to children.

Nutrition

In 1990, activists from a small group known as

London Greenpeace London Greenpeace was an anarchist environmentalist activist collective that existed between 1972 and 2001. They were based in London, and came to international prominence when two of their activists refused to capitulate to McDonald's ...

(no connection to the international group

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

) distributed leaflets entitled ''What's wrong with McDonald's?'', criticizing its environmental, health, and labor record. The corporation wrote to the group demanding they desist and apologize, and, when two of the activists refused to back down, sued them for

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

leading to the "

McLibel case , known as "the McLibel case", was an English lawsuit for libel filed by McDonald's Corporation against environmental activists Helen Steel and David Morris (often referred to as "The McLibel Two") over a factsheet critical of the company. E ...

", one of the longest cases in English civil law. A documentary film of the McLibel Trial has been shown in several countries.

Morgan Spurlock Morgan Valentine Spurlock (November 7, 1970 – May 23, 2024) was an American documentary filmmaker, writer, and television producer. He directed 23 films and was the producer of nearly 70 films throughout his career. Spurlock received acclaim f ...

's 2004 documentary film ''

Super Size Me ''Super Size Me'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003, during which he claimed to consume o ...

'' claimed that McDonald's food was contributing to the increase of

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

in society and that the company was failing to provide nutritional information about its food for its customers. Six weeks after the film premiered, McDonald's announced that it was eliminating the super size option and was creating the adult

Happy Meal A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food Chain store#Restaurant chain, restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard b ...

. In response to public pressure, McDonald's has sought to include more healthy choices in its menu, announcing in May 2008 that, in the United States and Canada, it has switched to using cooking oil that contains no

trans fat Trans fat is a type of unsaturated fat that occurs in foods. Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally, but large amounts are found in some processed foods made with partially hydrogenated oils. Because consumption of trans fats is associated ...

s for its french fries, and

canola file:CanolaBlooms.JPG, Close-up of canola blooms file:Canola Flower.jpg, Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both Edible oil, edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several ...

-based oil with corn and soy oils, for its baked items, pies, and cookies, by the end of 2018. The company introduced a new slogan to its recruitment posters: "Not bad for a

McJob "McJob" is a slang term for a low-paying, low-prestige dead-end job that requires few skills and offers very little chance of advancement. The term "McJob" comes from the name of the fast-food restaurant McDonald's, but is used to describe any l ...

Animal welfare

McDonald's has been criticized for using factory farmed fast growing chicken breeds in their supply chain. These breeds are more likely to suffer from welfare issues such as broken or fractured bones, leg deformities and heart failure. Since McDonald's purchases over 2 billion eggs per year, which accounts for about 4 percent of eggs produced in the United States, the switch to cage-free eggs is expected to have a major impact on the egg industry. It is part of a general trend toward cage-free eggs driven by consumer concern over the harsh living conditions of hens. In 2014, McDonald's pledged to stop using eggs from

battery cage Battery cages are a housing system used by factory farms for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected, in a unit, as in an artill ...

facilities in restaurants in Australia by 2017, which was met in 2018. McDonald's has been the subject of animal rights activism. In 2021,

Animal Rising Animal Rising (formerly Animal Rebellion) is a British animal activist movement with the stated aim of compelling social change towards animal rights and a Plant-based diet, plant-based food system. They justify their actions with the Greenhouse ...

blockaded four UK distribution centers using bamboo towers, leading to food shortages at restaurants. They cited "suffering of animals" in the McDonald's supply chain as a motivating factor.

Legal cases

McDonald's has been involved in several

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

s and other legal cases, most involving trademark disputes. The company has threatened many food businesses with legal action unless it drops the 'Mc' or 'Mac' from trading names.

European Union

In April 2017, Irish fast-food chain

Supermac's Supermac's is an Irish fast food restaurant chain that first opened in 1978. The first restaurant was located in Ballinasloe, County Galway, in Ireland. As of 2019, the chain consists of a total of 118 restaurants spread throughout the island o ...

submitted a request to the European Union Property Office to cancel McDonald's owned trademarks within the European Union, claiming that McDonald's engaged in "trademark bullying; registering brand names... which are simply stored away in a war chest to use against future competitors", after the trademarks had prevented Supermac's from expanding out of Ireland. The EUIPO ruled in Supermac's favor, finding that McDonald's "has not proven genuine use" of many trademarks, canceling McDonald's owned trademarks such as "Big Mac" and specific "Mc"-related trademarks within the European Union.

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

responded by "trolling" McDonald's by giving their burgers names that included the words "Big Mac" that also mocked the original burger, which included "Like a Big Mac But Juicier", "Like a Big Mac, But Actually Big" and "Big Mac-ish But Flame-Grilled of Course." In 2023, the EUIPO Board of Appeal partially annulled their decision after McDonald's filed 700 pages of additional evidence despite objections. However, on further appeal to the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

, the court ruled in 2024 that McDonald's had failed to prove the use of the Big Mac trademark in relation to chicken products or services associated with operating restaurants, meaning Supermac's and other businesses are now free to use the "Mac" in their business names and in names for poultry products in Europe. McDonald's retains the Big Mac trademark solely for its beef burgers. The McDonald's group has had proceedings taken against it by the French Tax Authorities, with possible charges of criminal tax fraud. In July 2022, the group reached an agreement with the French judicial authorities to end criminal proceedings for tax fraud.

Malaysia

On September 8, 2009, McDonald's Malaysian operations lost a lawsuit to prevent another restaurant from calling itself McCurry. McDonald's lost in an appeal to Malaysia's highest court, the Federal Court. On December 29, 2016, McDonald's Malaysia issued a statement that said only certified halal cakes are allowed inside its restaurants nationwide.

United Kingdom

The longest-running legal action of all time in the UK was the

against two defendants who criticized several aspects of the company. The trial lasted ten years and called 130 witnesses. The

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

deemed that the unequal resources of the litigants breached the defendants' rights to freedom of speech and biased the trial. The result was widely seen as a "PR disaster" for McDonald's. In 2021, it emerged that at least 50 employees had filed charges against the chains regarding harassment in the workplace in five years, leading to the company instituting anti-harassment training. Some of the complainants also stated that they were verbally and physically harassed in retaliation for their complaints. In 2023, the BBC conducted an investigation, and reported that more than 100 current and recent UK workers at outlets of the fast-food chain allege there is a continuing toxic culture of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying. In January 2025, it was reported that over 700 young workers had filed lawsuits against McDonald's UK, alleging widespread harassment and discrimination. The claims, handled by the law firm Leigh Day, involved current and former employees under the age of 20 and spanned more than 450 restaurants. Following a BBC investigation in July 2023, testimonies highlighted issues such as racism, homophobia, ableism, and harassment. McDonald's UK, dismissed 29 workers for sexual harassment in 2023 and established a specialist unit to investigate such allegations. However, unions argued that these measures did not resolve the issues. Employees shared accounts of inappropriate behavior, including homophobic remarks, sexual advances, and unwanted physical contact from managers. Similar allegations had been raised in 2019, with the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union reporting over 1,000 cases of harassment involving female employees. In March 2025, the Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to all 1,400 McDonald's branches telling them they must comply with their legal duties, or risk enforcement action. In June 2025, it was reported that McDonald's was attempting to block the expansion of the Irish chain

into the UK market and intended to proceed with IPO trademark court proceedings in the UK, despite having been unsuccessful in similar proceedings against Supermac's in the EU in 2024.

United States

The 1994 court case ''

Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants ''Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants'', also known as the McDonald's coffee case and the hot coffee lawsuit, was a highly publicized 1994 product liability lawsuit in the United States against the restaurant corporation McDonald's. A jury found ...

'' examined a McDonald's practice of serving coffee so hot that when spilled, it caused third degree burns requiring weeks of hospitalization and

skin grafting Skin grafting, a type of graft surgery, involves the transplantation of skin without a defined circulation. The transplanted tissue is called a skin graft. Surgeons may use skin grafting to treat: * extensive wounding or trauma * burns * ...

surgery. The trial outcome was an award of $2.86 million (equivalent to $ million in ) for the plaintiff, 81-year old Stella Liebeck. The amount was later reduced to $640,000 (equivalent to $ million in ). In 2019, a McDonald's employee, Jenna Ries, sued the restaurant chain over allowing

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

in the workplace and described the

working environment A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of the ...

as "toxic". In 2023, an investigation by the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

found

child labor Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...

violations at McDonald's franchises in the state of Kentucky, which involved over 300 children, two of them 10-year-olds. A total of $212,000 was levied against three franchises for the violations. Further investigations uncovered child labor violations involving 83 minors at 16 different locations in Louisiana and Texas, with imposed fines amounting to $77,572.

Marketing and advertising

McDonald's has maintained an extensive advertising campaign for decades. In addition to the usual media (television, radio, and newspaper), the company makes use of billboards and signage. Also, it sponsors sporting events ranging from Little League to the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

and

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. Television has been central to the company's advertising strategy. To date, McDonald's has used 23 different slogans in United States advertising, as well as a few other slogans for select countries and regions.

Children's advertising

McDonald's uses

playgrounds A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates Play (activity)#Children, play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for othe ...

, games, and

toys A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and ...

to make children want to go to McDonald's.

Celebrity endorsements

Sports

In 1992, basketball player

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

became the first celebrity to have a McDonald's value meal named after him. The "McJordan" was available at Chicago franchises. The exclusivity of the meal lead to fans in other regions being envious, more notably leading to a man buying a gallon of the McJordan BBQ sauce for 10,000 dollars.

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

was a spokesman for McDonald's from 2003 to 2017, while co-endorsing Coca-Cola-Sprite since early in his career. In January 2025, WNBA player

Angel Reese Angel Reese (born May 6, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and for Rose BC of the Unrivaled (basketball), Unrivaled basketball league. Nicknamed "Bayo ...

became the first woman to partner with McDonald's, creating the Angel Reese Special. Ordering the meal as a double Quarter Pounder was promoted in reference to Reese's consistent

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

s during games. McDonald's is the title sponsor of the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

, to draw fans, college coaches, and NBA decision-makers.

Music

In September 2020, McDonald's partnered with rapper

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

to release the "Travis Scott Meal" nationwide. Scott designed new uniforms for McDonald's employees and released Cactus Jack merchandise using vintage visuals from the fast food chain's history. The company followed up with the "J Balvin Meal" in a partnership with

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

singer

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to th ...

. In 2021, McDonald's partnered with Korean

boy group A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands dance a ...

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

to release the " BTS Meal" in 50 countries around the world, starting on May 26 in select countries.

Space exploration

McDonald's and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

explored an advertising agreement for a planned mission to the asteroid 449 Hamburga; however, the spacecraft was eventually canceled.

Sponsorship in NASCAR

McDonald's entered the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

in 1977, sponsoring

Richard Childress Richard Reed Childress (born September 21, 1945) is an American former race car driver in NASCAR. Childress is the owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR). In 2004, he opened a vineyard in the Yadkin Valley AVA near Lexington, North Carolina, Le ...

for one race. Between the years 1977 and 1986, McDonald's would only sponsor a handful of races in a season. In 1993, McDonald's became the full-time sponsor for the No. 27

Junior Johnson & Associates Junior Johnson & Associates (formerly Johnson Hodgdon Racing) was a NASCAR team that ran in the Winston Cup Series from 1953 to 1995. The team was run by former driver Junior Johnson and was best known for fielding cars for legendary talents such ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, driven by

Hut Stricklin Waymond Lane "Hut" Stricklin Jr. (born June 24, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Stricklin grew up in Calera, Alabama. He married Pam Allison, the daughter of NASCAR legend Donnie Allison after they ...

. In 1994, Stricklin was replaced in the car by

Jimmy Spencer James Peter Spencer (born February 15, 1957) is an American former racing driver, team owner, talk show host and television commentator. He is best known for competing in NASCAR. He hosted the NASCAR-inspired talk show, ''What's the Deal?'', o ...

, who would go on to win twice that season. The following season McDonald's would move over to the No. 94 Bill Elliott Racing Ford, driven by team-owner

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott Sr. (born October 8, 1955), also known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill", or "Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Superstar Racing Experienc ...

. McDonald's stayed with Elliott until the 2001 season when they moved again, this time to the No. 96 PPI Motorsports Ford, driven by rookie

Andy Houston Andrew Houston (born November 7, 1970) is an American stock car racing spotter and former driver. He is a veteran of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, scoring three wins. Houston is the son of legendary Busch driver Tommy Houston and the younge ...

. However, when the team failed to field a car for the entire season, McDonald's became absent from NASCAR until 2004, when it joined

Evernham Motorsports Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-c ...

as a part-time sponsor for drivers Elliott,

Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American professional dirt track racing and stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet SS for Richard Childress Racing. Currently, K ...

Elliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...

A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981), nicknamed "the Dinger,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger ...

, and

Reed Sorenson Bradley Reed Sorenson (born February 5, 1986) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and Spotter (auto racing), spotter. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation ...

until 2010. During the 2010 season, McDonald's would enter its longest partnership with a team at

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rally ...

, sponsoring the No. 1

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

driven by

Jamie McMurray James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed "Jamie Mac", is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR'' and CW. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 ...

until his final race in the 2019 Daytona 500. McDonald's moved to CGR's No. 42 of

Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. ...

, whom the company sponsored until his suspension in 2020, and also had a one-race partnership with

Richard Petty Motorsports Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) ...

' No. 43 Chevrolet driven by

Bubba Wallace William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing. Wallace was previously a dev ...

in 2019 and 2020. McDonald's continued working with the No. 42 under new driver

Ross Chastain Ross Lee Chastain (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing, part-tim ...

in 2021 and also joined Wallace's new team

23XI Racing 23XI Racing (pronounced twenty-three eleven) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. It is owned and operated by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame basketball player Michae ...

as a "founding partner".

Charity

McHappy Day is an annual event at McDonald's, during which a percentage of the day's sales go to charity. It is the signature fundraising event for

Ronald McDonald House Charities Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. RMHC has a global network of ...

(RMHC). According to the Australian McHappy Day website, McHappy Day raised $20.4 million in 2009. The goal for 2010 was $20.8 million. Ronald McDonald House Charities is a global network of more than 260 Chapters that is made to help families access

medical care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is deliver ...

for their children and family support services in more than 60 countries and regions throughout the world. In 2022, over $182 million were donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities from McDonald's, its franchisees, and its customers. In 1995,

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research hospital headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on chi ...

received an anonymous letter postmarked in Dallas, Texas, containing a $1 million winning

McDonald's Monopoly The McDonald's Monopoly game is a sales promotion run by fast food restaurant chain McDonald's, with a theme based on the Hasbro board game ''Monopoly (game), Monopoly''. The game first ran in the U.S. in 1987 and has since been used worldwide. ...

game piece. McDonald's officials came to the hospital, accompanied by a representative from the accounting firm Arthur Andersen, who examined the card under a jeweler's eyepiece, handled it with plastic gloves, and verified it as a winner.

Future plans

McDonald's has many plans to expand, digitize, and reduce carbon emissions in the near future. McDonald's wants to add 900 McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. by 2027. In the world, they want to create more 10,000 in the world (totaling 50,000 restaurants globally) by 2027. McDonald's has committed to eliminating

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

from its

global supply chain A global value chain (GVC) refers to the full range of activities that economic actors engage in to bring a product to market. The global value chain does not only involve production processes, but preproduction (such as design) and postproduction ...

by 2030 for beef and four other commodities. The company also has a 2050 net-zero carbon emissions commitment, to bring global carbon emissions down. Digitizing the Arches is a new initiative of McDonald's. From this, McDonald's announces a partnership with

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

to automate restaurants using

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

, and

Google Cloud Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a suite of cloud computing services offered by Google that provides a series of modular cloud services including computing, data storage, data analytics, and machine learning, alongside a set of management tools ...

technology. They also plan to expand the McDonald's loyalty program from 150 million to 250 million 90-day active users by 2027. McDonald's is also planning to expand its digital ordering system to 30% of deliveries originating from their app by 2027.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1940 establishments in California American companies established in 1955 Companies based in Cook County, Illinois Companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food franchises Fast-food hamburger restaurants Multinational food companies Restaurants established in 1940 Restaurants established in 1955 1955 establishments in Illinois Real estate companies established in 1955 Food and drink companies based in Chicago

History

Origin

Speedee Service System

Mascots

Ray Kroc

Changes

Products

Menu

McValue Meal Deal

Health improvements

McPlant

International menu variations

Asia

Europe and New Zealand

North America

Types of McDonald's locations and McDonald's subsidies

McDrive

McCafé

McDonald's Next

PlayPlaces

McExpress and McStop

CosMc's

Corporate overview

Statistics

Stock holdings

Monetary loss

Business trends

Business model

Ownership

Workers

Headquarters

Board of directors

Ownership

Global operations

International influence

Global activities

McDonald's employee relations

United States

Technology uses

Worker complaints

France

South Korea

United Kingdom

Criticism

Nutrition

Animal welfare

Legal cases

European Union

Malaysia

United Kingdom

United States

Marketing and advertising

Children's advertising

Celebrity endorsements

Sports

Music

Space exploration

Sponsorship in NASCAR

Charity

Future plans

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links