Operating margins remain structurally resilient, reaching 44.3% in 2026Q1, even as revenue growth exhibits volatility with a 9.4% increase following a period of contraction.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 | Dec'96 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 27.45B | 26.89B | 25.92B | 25.5B | 23.18B | 23.22B | 19.21B | 21.36B | 21.26B | 22.82B | 24.62B | 25.41B | 27.44B | 28.11B | 27.57B | 27.01B | 24.07B | 22.74B | 23.52B | 22.79B | 20.9B | 19.12B | 18.59B | 17.14B | 15.41B | 14.87B | 14.24B | 13.26B | 12.42B | 11.41B | 10.69B |
| Revenue Growth % | 6.77% | 3.72% | 1.67% | 9.98% | -0.18% | 20.9% | -10.09% | 0.5% | -6.85% | -7.32% | -3.11% | -7.39% | -2.36% | 1.95% | 2.08% | 12.18% | 5.85% | -3.31% | 3.23% | 9.05% | 9.3% | 2.81% | 8.48% | 11.26% | 3.6% | 4.4% | 7.42% | 6.75% | 8.88% | 6.76% | 9.11% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 11.71B | 11.45B | 11.21B | 10.93B | 9.97B | 10.64B | 9.46B | 10.19B | 10.43B | 12.2B | 14.42B | 15.62B | 16.99B | 17.2B | 16.75B | 16.32B | 14.44B | 13.95B | 14.88B | 14.88B | 13.96B | 12.94B | 12.69B | 8.53B | 7.67B | 7.35B | 6.83B | 5.19B | 4.84B | 1.98B | 1.8B |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 42.59% | 43.25% | 42.88% | 43.03% | 45.83% | 49.23% | 47.67% | 49.04% | 53.46% | 58.55% | 61.48% | 61.9% | 61.21% | 60.76% | 60.43% | 59.97% | 61.35% | 63.27% | 65.31% | 66.82% | 67.69% | 68.25% | 49.78% | 49.78% | 49.45% | 47.97% | 39.16% | 38.95% | 17.34% | 16.88% |
| Gross Profit | 15.74B | 15.44B | 14.71B | 14.56B | 13.21B | 12.58B | 9.75B | 11.18B | 10.83B | 10.62B | 10.2B | 9.79B | 10.46B | 10.9B | 10.82B | 10.69B | 9.64B | 8.79B | 8.64B | 7.91B | 6.93B | 6.18B | 5.9B | 8.61B | 7.74B | 7.52B | 7.41B | 8.07B | 7.58B | 9.43B | 8.88B |
| Gross Margin % | 57.35% | 57.41% | 56.75% | 57.12% | 56.97% | 54.17% | 50.77% | 52.33% | 50.96% | 46.54% | 41.45% | 38.52% | 38.1% | 38.79% | 39.24% | 39.57% | 40.03% | 38.65% | 36.73% | 34.69% | 33.18% | 32.31% | 31.75% | 50.22% | 50.22% | 50.55% | 52.03% | 60.84% | 61.05% | 82.66% | 83.12% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | 4.93% | 1% | 10.27% | 4.98% | 29% | -12.77% | 3.2% | 1.99% | 4.08% | 4.24% | -6.37% | -4.1% | 0.8% | 1.21% | 10.89% | 9.62% | 1.77% | 9.29% | 14.04% | 12.22% | 4.64% | -31.42% | 11.26% | 2.93% | 1.44% | -8.13% | 6.37% | -19.58% | 6.16% | 43.93% |
| Operating Expenses | 3.11B | 3.04B | 3B | 2.92B | 3.84B | 2.22B | 2.43B | 2.11B | 2.01B | 1.07B | 2.46B | 2.64B | 2.51B | 2.14B | 2.21B | 2.16B | 2.16B | 1.95B | 2.2B | 4.03B | 2.5B | 2.19B | 2.37B | 5.78B | 5.62B | 4.82B | 4.28B | 4.85B | 4.56B | 6.74B | 6.3B |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 11.31% | 11.57% | 11.44% | 16.55% | 9.58% | 12.64% | 9.87% | 9.46% | 4.68% | 9.99% | 10.4% | 9.13% | 7.61% | 8.02% | 7.99% | 8.99% | 8.58% | 9.34% | 17.67% | 11.96% | 11.47% | 12.72% | 33.7% | 36.51% | 32.42% | 30.03% | 36.59% | 36.71% | 59.04% | 58.92% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 2.66B | 2.58B | 2.41B | 2.44B | 2.49B | 2.38B | 2.25B | 1.97B | 1.99B | 2.23B | 2.38B | 2.43B | 2.49B | 2.39B | 2.46B | 2.39B | 2.33B | 2.23B | 2.36B | 2.37B | 2.3B | 2.12B | 1.94B | 5.24B | 4.79B | 4.56B | 4.28B | 3.9B | 3.68B | 5.94B | 5.55B |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 9.61% | 9.31% | 9.55% | 10.75% | 10.24% | 11.69% | 9.21% | 9.34% | 9.78% | 9.68% | 9.58% | 9.07% | 8.49% | 8.91% | 8.86% | 9.69% | 9.82% | 10.01% | 10.39% | 10.99% | 11.08% | 10.43% | 30.6% | 31.1% | 30.69% | 30.03% | 29.38% | 29.62% | 52.08% | 51.96% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 4M | 459M | 586M | 482M | 1.34B | -153.6M | 183.1M | 142.7M | 24.6M | -1.16B | 75.7M | 209.4M | 18.6M | -247.2M | -243.5M | -236.8M | -169.1M | -283.4M | -159.2M | 1.66B | 203.3M | 74.9M | 426.4M | 531.6M | 833.3M | 257.4M | 0 | 956.3M | 881.1M | 793.8M | 742.9M |
| Operating Income | 12.63B | 12.39B | 11.71B | 11.65B | 9.37B | 10.36B | 7.32B | 9.07B | 8.82B | 9.55B | 7.74B | 7.15B | 7.95B | 8.76B | 8.6B | 8.53B | 7.47B | 6.84B | 6.44B | 3.88B | 4.43B | 3.98B | 3.54B | 2.83B | 2.11B | 2.7B | 3.13B | 3.21B | 3.02B | 2.69B | 2.59B |
| Operating Margin % | 46.01% | 46.1% | 45.19% | 45.68% | 40.42% | 44.59% | 38.13% | 42.45% | 41.5% | 41.86% | 31.45% | 28.12% | 28.97% | 31.18% | 31.21% | 31.58% | 31.04% | 30.08% | 27.39% | 17.02% | 21.22% | 20.84% | 19.03% | 16.52% | 13.72% | 18.14% | 22% | 24.24% | 24.34% | 23.62% | 24.21% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 5.81% | 0.56% | 24.29% | -9.51% | 41.4% | -19.25% | 2.8% | -7.64% | 23.35% | 8.38% | -10.11% | -9.3% | 1.86% | 0.88% | 14.14% | 9.24% | 6.18% | 66.1% | -12.5% | 11.27% | 12.61% | 24.92% | 34.04% | -21.66% | -13.92% | -2.52% | 6.32% | 12.19% | 4.17% | 3.65% |
| EBITDA | 14.83B | 14.55B | 13.81B | 13.63B | 11.24B | 12.22B | 9.08B | 10.69B | 10.3B | 10.92B | 9.26B | 8.7B | 9.59B | 10.35B | 10.09B | 9.94B | 8.75B | 8.06B | 7.65B | 5.09B | 5.68B | 5.23B | 4.74B | 3.98B | 3.16B | 3.78B | 4.14B | 4.17B | 3.9B | 3.49B | 3.33B |
| EBITDA Margin % | 54.04% | 54.12% | 53.28% | 53.44% | 48.49% | 52.64% | 47.25% | 50.03% | 48.47% | 47.83% | 37.61% | 34.24% | 34.96% | 36.82% | 36.61% | 36.82% | 36.34% | 35.42% | 32.53% | 22.35% | 27.2% | 27.38% | 25.49% | 23.22% | 20.54% | 25.44% | 29.09% | 31.45% | 31.43% | 30.58% | 31.16% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 8.02% | 5.37% | 1.35% | 21.2% | -8.03% | 34.69% | -15.09% | 3.72% | -5.6% | 17.87% | 6.43% | -9.3% | -7.3% | 2.54% | 1.49% | 13.66% | 8.59% | 5.31% | 50.22% | -10.38% | 8.59% | 10.44% | 19.06% | 25.81% | -16.38% | -8.7% | -0.64% | 6.82% | 11.92% | 4.77% | 3.9% |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 2.2B | 2.16B | 2.1B | 1.98B | 1.87B | 1.87B | 1.75B | 1.62B | 1.48B | 1.36B | 1.52B | 1.56B | 1.64B | 1.59B | 1.49B | 1.42B | 1.28B | 1.22B | 1.21B | 1.21B | 1.25B | 1.25B | 1.2B | 1.15B | 1.05B | 1.09B | 1.01B | 956.3M | 881.1M | 793.8M | 742.9M |
| EBIT | 12.72B | 12.48B | 11.85B | 11.88B | 9.03B | 10.31B | 7.36B | 9.14B | 8.8B | 9.49B | 7.75B | 7.19B | 7.95B | 8.73B | 8.6B | 8.51B | 7.45B | 6.96B | 6.68B | 3.98B | 4.39B | 3.94B | 3.54B | 2.83B | 2.11B | 2.7B | 3.13B | 3.21B | 3.02B | 2.69B | 2.59B |
| Net Interest Income | -1.55B | -1.52B | -1.4B | -1.17B | -1.16B | -1.18B | -1.2B | -1.08B | -977.2M | -914.3M | -880.8M | -629.3M | -556.4M | -512.8M | -488.6M | -453.8M | -430.9M | -454.2M | -522.6M | -410.1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 53M | 63M | 103M | 187M | 44M | 9M | 18M | 37M | 4M | 7M | 4M | 9M | 20M | 15M | 28M | 39M | 20M | 19M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 1.61B | 1.58B | 1.51B | 1.36B | 1.21B | 1.19B | 1.22B | 1.12B | 981.2M | 921.3M | 884.8M | 638.3M | 576.4M | 527.8M | 516.6M | 492.8M | 450.9M | 473.2M | 522.6M | 410.1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -1.52B | -1.5B | -1.37B | -1.13B | -1.55B | -1.23B | -1.18B | -1.05B | -1.01B | -979.2M | -878.5M | -589.8M | -577.2M | -559.8M | -525.6M | -517.5M | -472.8M | -354M | -284.9M | -306.9M | -278.6M | -323.8M | -337.2M | -485.8M | -450.8M | -367.3M | -251M | -330.3M | -715.9M | -287.5M | -335.8M |
| Pretax Income | 11.11B | 10.9B | 10.35B | 10.52B | 7.83B | 9.13B | 6.14B | 8.02B | 7.82B | 8.57B | 6.87B | 6.56B | 7.37B | 8.2B | 8.08B | 8.01B | 7B | 6.49B | 6.16B | 3.57B | 4.15B | 3.66B | 3.2B | 2.35B | 1.66B | 2.33B | 2.88B | 2.88B | 2.31B | 2.41B | 2.25B |
| Pretax Margin % | 40.48% | 40.53% | 39.91% | 41.27% | 33.75% | 39.31% | 31.97% | 37.53% | 36.77% | 37.57% | 27.89% | 25.8% | 26.86% | 29.19% | 29.31% | 29.67% | 29.08% | 28.52% | 26.18% | 15.68% | 19.88% | 19.15% | 17.21% | 13.69% | 10.79% | 15.67% | 20.24% | 21.75% | 18.58% | 21.1% | 21.06% |
| Income Tax | 2.43B | 2.33B | 2.12B | 2.05B | 1.65B | 1.58B | 1.41B | 1.99B | 1.89B | 3.38B | 2.18B | 2.03B | 2.61B | 2.62B | 2.61B | 2.51B | 2.05B | 1.94B | 1.84B | 1.24B | 1.29B | 1.08B | 923.2M | 838.2M | 670M | 693.1M | 905M | 936.2M | 757.3M | 764.8M | 678.4M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 21.89% | 21.42% | 20.5% | 19.51% | 21.06% | 17.34% | 22.96% | 24.85% | 24.2% | 39.44% | 31.74% | 30.91% | 35.46% | 31.92% | 32.36% | 31.32% | 29.34% | 29.84% | 29.96% | 34.63% | 31.01% | 29.58% | 28.84% | 35.72% | 40.31% | 29.75% | 31.4% | 32.46% | 32.82% | 31.77% | 30.14% |
| Net Income | 8.68B | 8.56B | 8.22B | 8.47B | 6.18B | 7.55B | 4.73B | 6.03B | 5.92B | 5.19B | 4.69B | 4.53B | 4.76B | 5.59B | 5.46B | 5.5B | 4.95B | 4.55B | 4.31B | 2.4B | 3.54B | 2.6B | 2.28B | 1.47B | 893.5M | 1.64B | 1.98B | 1.95B | 1.55B | 1.64B | 1.57B |
| Net Margin % | 31.62% | 31.85% | 31.72% | 33.22% | 26.65% | 32.49% | 24.63% | 28.2% | 27.87% | 22.75% | 19.03% | 17.82% | 17.34% | 19.87% | 19.82% | 20.38% | 20.55% | 20.01% | 18.34% | 10.51% | 16.96% | 13.61% | 12.25% | 8.58% | 5.8% | 11.01% | 13.88% | 14.69% | 12.48% | 14.4% | 14.72% |
| Net Income Growth % | 6.33% | 4.13% | -2.9% | 37.11% | -18.13% | 59.5% | -21.49% | 1.71% | 14.1% | 10.79% | 3.47% | -4.8% | -14.82% | 2.22% | -0.7% | 11.26% | 8.69% | 5.51% | 80.08% | -32.42% | 36.2% | 14.21% | 54.85% | 64.68% | -45.41% | -17.23% | 1.51% | 25.66% | -5.63% | 4.44% | 10.18% |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 8.68B | 8.56B | 8.22B | 8.47B | 6.18B | 7.55B | 4.73B | 6.03B | 5.92B | 5.19B | 4.69B | 4.53B | 4.76B | 5.59B | 5.46B | 5.5B | 4.95B | 4.55B | 4.31B | 2.33B | 2.87B | 2.58B | 2.28B | 1.51B | 992.1M | 1.64B | 1.98B | 1.95B | 1.55B | 1.64B | 1.57B |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60.1M | 678.1M | 24.6M | 1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 12.16 | 11.95 | 11.39 | 11.56 | 8.33 | 10.04 | 6.31 | 7.88 | 7.54 | 6.37 | 5.44 | 4.80 | 4.82 | 5.55 | 5.36 | 5.27 | 4.58 | 4.11 | 3.76 | 1.98 | 2.83 | 2.04 | 1.79 | 1.15 | 0.70 | 1.25 | 1.46 | 1.39 | 1.10 | 1.15 | 1.08 |
| EPS Growth % | 7.06% | 4.92% | -1.47% | 38.78% | -17.03% | 59.11% | -19.92% | 4.51% | 18.37% | 17.1% | 13.33% | -0.41% | -13.15% | 3.54% | 1.71% | 15.07% | 11.44% | 9.31% | 89.9% | -30.04% | 38.73% | 13.97% | 55.65% | 64.29% | -44% | -14.38% | 5.04% | 26.36% | -4.35% | 6.48% | 9.09% |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 12.00 | 11.45 | 11.63 | 8.39 | 10.11 | 6.35 | 7.95 | 7.61 | 6.43 | 5.49 | 4.82 | 4.85 | 5.59 | 5.41 | 5.33 | 4.64 | 4.17 | 3.83 | 2.02 | 2.87 | 2.06 | 1.81 | 1.16 | 0.70 | 1.28 | 1.49 | 1.44 | 1.14 | 1.18 | 1.11 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 713.5M | 716.4M | 721.9M | 732.3M | 741.3M | 751.8M | 750.1M | 764.9M | 785.6M | 815.5M | 861.2M | 944.6M | 986.3M | 1.01B | 1.02B | 1.04B | 1.08B | 1.11B | 1.15B | 1.21B | 1.25B | 1.27B | 1.27B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.31B | 1.36B | 1.4B | 1.41B | 1.41B | 1.43B |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 710.7M | 713.4M | 718.3M | 727.9M | 736.5M | 746.3M | 744.6M | 758.1M | 778.2M | 807.4M | 854.4M | 939.4M | 980.5M | 998.4M | 1.01B | 1.03B | 1.07B | 1.09B | 1.13B | 1.19B | 1.23B | 1.26B | 1.26B | 1.27B | 1.27B | 1.29B | 1.32B | 1.36B | 1.37B | 1.37B | 1.39B |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | 59.73% | 59.22% | 53.52% | 67.48% | 51.93% | 79.33% | 59.45% | 54.96% | 59.5% | 65.26% | 71.32% | 67.6% | 55.76% | 53% | 47.42% | 48.68% | 49.12% | 42.27% | 73.72% | 34.32% | 32.36% | 30.5% | 34.22% | 33.28% | 17.58% | 14.2% | 13.59% | 15.52% | 15.08% | 14.75% |
Consumer inflationary fatigue
According to recent financial disclosures, MCD's revenue growth has fluctuated significantly, moving from a 9.7% expansion in 2025Q4 to a 9.4% increase in 2026Q1, following a period of contraction in early 2025, which suggests that top-line durability remains sensitive to broader macroeconomic shifts and pricing strategies.
The inconsistency in quarterly revenue growth highlights the challenges of maintaining unit volume in a high-inflation environment. While the company has successfully utilized pricing to offset traffic headwinds, the recent volatility suggests that the brand's ability to drive organic growth is increasingly dependent on aggressive promotional activity.
As reported in quarterly filings, MCD maintains robust operating margins that peaked at 47.4% in 2025Q3, demonstrating the inherent efficiency of its franchise-heavy model where rental income and royalty collections provide a high-margin buffer against the variable costs typically associated with direct restaurant operations.
The company's ability to sustain operating margins above 44% across the observed period underscores the effectiveness of its real estate ownership strategy. This structural advantage allows the firm to insulate its bottom line from the commodity and labor cost pressures that frequently compress the margins of its direct competitors.
Based on the provided income statement data, MCD demonstrates significant operating leverage, as evidenced by the company's ability to generate $2.9 billion in operating income on $6.5 billion of revenue in 2026Q1, effectively scaling its profitability despite the inherent complexities of managing a global franchise network.
The efficiency of the SG&A line relative to gross profit suggests that the company has successfully optimized its corporate overhead. By shifting the burden of operational expenses to franchisees, the firm maintains a lean cost structure that allows for high conversion rates from gross profit to operating income.
Data from recent income statements indicates that while net income remains strong, the company's aggressive capital allocation strategy, which includes consistent share buybacks, warrants caution as it may mask underlying operational pressures and contribute to a strained balance sheet profile over the long term.
Investors should monitor whether the reliance on debt to fund shareholder returns will limit the company's flexibility during potential economic downturns. The persistent use of share repurchases, despite fluctuating revenue growth, suggests a management focus on EPS engineering that may not be sustainable if interest rates remain elevated.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying MCD stock.
For fiscal year 2025, McDonald's Corporation (MCD) reported total revenue of $26.89B. This represents a 151.6% increase compared to $10.69B in 1996.
McDonald's Corporation (MCD) is profitable, generating $8.56B in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 31.9%.
McDonald's Corporation (MCD) reported an operating income of $12.39B, resulting in an operating profit margin of 46.1%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
McDonald's Corporation (MCD) generated $15.44B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 57.4%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.