In 2024, McDonald's brand value amounted to ***** billion U.S. dollars, up from *** billion dollars a year earlier – an annual increase of ** percent. The Golden Arches McDonald's started its business as a barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. Throughout the years, the company transformed into the leading fast-food franchise with the famous Golden Arches logo. As of May 2023, McDonald's ranked among the largest companies worldwide by market capitalization. Furthermore, the food behemoth was the highest-valued quick-service restaurant chain in the world by a wide margin in 2023, beating competitors such as Starbucks, KFC, and Burger King. More than a hamburger McDonald's operates in over 100 countries and produces its most famous hamburger, the Big Mac. This fact provides an informal measure of purchasing power parity between countries – namely the Big Mac Index, introduced by The Economist in 1986. According to the index, Switzerland had the most expensive Big Macs worldwide at **** dollars as of January 2023. Norway and Uruguay followed at **** dollars and **** dollars, respectively.

McDonald's generated a total revenue of ***** billion U.S. dollars in 2024. In that year, when looking at McDonald’s revenue by region, the country that generated the highest portion of revenue was the United States - accounting for ***** billion U.S. dollars. However, internationally operated markets including, but not exclusive to, Australia, France, Canada, and the UK, contributed the largest sum to the McDonald's total revenue in 2024. How did McDonald’s start? McDonald’s was originally founded in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, United States by Richard, and Maurice McDonald. It was eventually turned into a franchise operation and was bought from the McDonald’s brothers in 1955 by businessman Ray Kroc. In 2024, there were over ** thousand conventionally franchised McDonald's restaurants worldwide, which constituted the majority of its ****** establishments across the globe. The burger behemoth earned most of its revenue from McDonald’s franchised restaurants and received ***** billion U.S. dollars through this mode of operation in 2024. Is McDonald’s the largest quick service chain? McDonald’s had the highest brand value of any quick service restaurant company by a large margin in 2024. Not only that, but it also ranked in the top 100 biggest companies in the world in 2024. The biggest player in the market that year was ********** with a total market capitalization amounting to over *** trillion U.S. dollars.

In North America, fast food king McDonald’s operated and franchised by far the largest proportion of restaurants in its home country of the United States, accounting for 13,557 units in 2024. Meanwhile, there were 1,489 McDonald’s establishments in Canada that same year.

Fast food giant McDonald’s recorded a revenue of approximately 10.41 billion U.S. dollars in the United States alone in 2024. Comparatively, international operated markets accounted for the highest amount of revenue, with 12.46 billion U.S. dollars. Due to the company's widespread success, McDonald's has become one of the most well-known fast food restaurants in the United States. The McDonald's brandMcDonald’s is arguably one of the most recognizable brands worldwide, let alone within the quick service market. In 2023, the company had over 41 thousand restaurants all over the globe. The majority of these were based in the United States. However, the number of McDonald's restaurants worldwide is expanding in other regions as well. In 2024, there were 13,557 McDonald's restaurants located in the United States. Meanwhile, there were 10,512 restaurants located in international operated markets. Why did McDonald's revenue decrease? The quick service restaurant market has become increasingly competitive in recent years and while McDonald’s remains profitable, revenue has generally declined over the past decade. The McDonald’s business model – easily affordable food, clean environment, accessible by all - was something that revolutionized food service. However, in recent years, this has been replicated by many other restaurants. This could be one of the many reasons there has been an overall decrease in revenue for the company throughout the past decade. McDonald's revenue did see an increase, however, from 2023 to 2024.

McDonald’s, the renowned global quick service restaurant chain, has maintained annual growth in its restaurant count for almost two decades, even during the years of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In 2024, the company operated and franchised ****** restaurants globally, marking a rise from the previous year’s count of ****** establishments.

McDonalds reported $56M in Stock for its fiscal quarter ending in December of 2024. Data for McDonalds | MCD - Stock including historical, tables and charts were last updated by Trading Economics this last August in 2025.

McDonalds reported $3.86B in Current Liabilities for its fiscal quarter ending in December of 2024. Data for McDonalds | MCD - Current Liabilities including historical, tables and charts were last updated by Trading Economics this last August in 2025.

In 2024, China had the most McDonald’s restaurants throughout the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East, with over ***** stores. Japan and Australia followed in the ranking with approximately ***** and ***** stores, respectively. Worldwide, there were over ****** McDonald’s restaurants in 2024.

Household name McDonald’s accounted for around ******* employees in 2024. This figure remained consistent with the previous two years. Overall, the number of McDonald's employees has more than halved in the past decade.

During the 2024 financial year, franchised restaurants accounted for a larger share of McDonald's total revenue, amounting to ***** billion U.S. dollars. That was over **** billion U.S. dollars more than the revenue generated by company-operated restaurants.

As of December 2024, Paris was the French city with the highest number of McDonald's restaurants, with ** outlets. Toulouse and Marseille followed in the ranking, with ** and ** restaurants, respectively. McDonald's is one of the leading quick service restaurants in France based on revenue.

McDonalds reported $55.18B in Assets for its fiscal quarter ending in December of 2024. Data for McDonalds | MCD - Assets including historical, tables and charts were last updated by Trading Economics this last August in 2025.

McDonalds reported $-3797000000 in Equity Capital and Reserves for its fiscal quarter ending in December of 2024. Data for McDonalds | MCD - Equity Capital And Reserves including historical, tables and charts were last updated by Trading Economics this last August in 2025.

McDonald’s recorded a net income of approximately **** billion U.S. dollars in 2024. The net income of a business is its income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, and taxes for a specific period (in this case it is measured over the course of a year).The company's fiscal year ends on December 31st.

McDonalds reported 25.45 in PE Price to Earnings for its fiscal quarter ending in December of 2024. Data for McDonalds | MCD - PE Price to Earnings including historical, tables and charts were last updated by Trading Economics this last August in 2025.

In 2024, there were ****** McDonald's restaurants located in the United States. This shows a slight increase when compared to the previous year's total of ******. Meanwhile, there were ****** restaurants located in international operated markets in 2024.

McDonalds reported $2.38B in Trade Debtors for its fiscal quarter ending in December of 2024. Data for McDonalds | MCD - Trade Debtors including historical, tables and charts were last updated by Trading Economics this last August in 2025.

McDonalds reported $38.42B in Debt for its fiscal quarter ending in December of 2024. Data for McDonalds | MCD - Debt including historical, tables and charts were last updated by Trading Economics this last August in 2025.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score of McDonald's restaurants in the United States experienced an overall increase from 2000 to 2024. However, the well-known burger company's ACSI score was ** in 2025, down from the previous year's total of 71.

Consumers’ growing awareness of fast food’s nutritional content and shift towards healthier eating habits have challenged demand for fast food and takeaway food services. In response, fast food brands have expanded their menus to include more nutritious, premium options with reduced fat, sugar and salt. Major companies have adapted to this trend, with McDonald's expanding its premium burger range and KFC focusing on fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The number of chicken-based fast food, which is considered healthier than traditional fast food, is also increasing. The recent cost-of-living crisis has had a mixed impact on the industry as consumers ‘trade down.’ Although people are refraining from overspending on eating out, they’re preferring to spend on fast food meals instead of paying for full meals at restaurants. Industry revenue is expected to have grown at an annualised 2.6% over the five years through 2024-25 to $29.6 billion. This trend includes an anticipated 2.9% jump in 2024-25. Consumers’ surging reliance on online delivery platforms during the pandemic boosted industry revenue but also pressured profitability, since online delivery platforms charge commissions per order. Rising food inflation has led businesses to increase menu prices to offset higher purchasing costs, with most major franchises able to pass on costs downstream to consumers, which has driven profitability growth over the five years through 2024-25. Shifting consumer preferences and evolving business models will drive industry growth over the coming years. Companies will increasingly focus on offering plant-based alternatives, reshaping their menus, with major brands set to expand their vegetarian and vegan options to capture rising demand for sustainable, health-conscious meals. Refranchising will also improve industrywide profitability, as fast food giants will reduce their operational costs by shifting company-owned stores to franchisees. This model allows brands to focus on marketing and innovation while franchisees manage day-to-day operations. These strategies, alongside international expansion, will boost competition and industry growth. Revenue is forecast to rise at an annualised 4.3% over the five years through 2029-30 to reach $36.6 billion.