Company data sheet · McDonald's
McDonald's: profitable every year, and standing still.
- Industry
- Eating Places
- Headquarters
- United States
- Ticker
- MCD (NYSE)
- Sources
- SEC filings (1994–2026), Stratrix's verified Decision Cases, market data and official economic statistics for the United States
- Data as of
- October 18, 2026
- Left behind by its peers. From 2016 to 2025, its revenue grew 9% in US dollars; the median among 52 large retailers grew 74%. It outgrew only 17% of them.
- Leaders came and went. McDonald's filed 35 leadership changes since 2016, more than 80% of large retailers (the median is 25). The day after each, its shares moved a median 0.0 points against its sector. The news was rarely news.
- Ten decisions on record. Stratrix has verified ten of McDonald's's big decisions, each with what happened next. The hardest year after: "Carl Icahn ran a McDonald's proxy fight on 200 shares — and lost 490 million to 9 million", with its shares 61 points behind the S&P 500 over the next three years. The best: "McDonald's 2003 Fix Was to Stop Opening Restaurants and Start Filling the Ones It Had", 96 points ahead of the S&P 500 over the next three years.
- Profitable every year. McDonald's made money in each of its last ten fiscal years, from $4.7 billion (2016) to $8.6 billion (2025).
Financial results
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $24.6 billion | $4.7 billion | |
| 2017 | $22.8 billion | $5.2 billion | |
| 2018 | $21.3 billion | $5.9 billion | |
| 2019 | $21.4 billion | $6 billion | |
| 2020 | $19.2 billion | $4.7 billion | |
| 2021 | $23.2 billion | $7.5 billion | |
| 2022 | $23.2 billion | $6.2 billion | |
| 2023 | $25.5 billion | $8.5 billion | |
| 2024 | $25.9 billion | $8.2 billion | |
| 2025 | $26.9 billion | $8.6 billion |
As reported in its annual filings. Losses in red.
Stratrix Decision Cases
- 2022The McPlant Test Was Designed to Say No. The Numbers Just Confirmed It.
- 2019McDonald's Bought an AI Company, Then Sold It 36 Months Later for a Profit. That Was the Plan Working.
- 2012Carl Icahn ran a McDonald's proxy fight on 200 shares — and lost 490 million to 9 million
- 2004McDonald's Named Charlie Bell CEO Within Hours of Its Chairman's Death — and Named His Successor Seven Months Later
- 2003McDonald's 2003 Fix Was to Stop Opening Restaurants and Start Filling the Ones It Had
- 2003McDonald's 2003 Turnaround Was Real. The Hero Story Around It Wasn't.
- 2002McDonald's Dollar Menu Seized the Price Gun: Big Mac Markups Fell From 12.5% to 3.6%
- 1995McDonald's Cracked India by Deleting Its Best-Selling Product. Then the Partner That Made It Possible Nearly Broke It.
- 1956McDonald's collects more rent from franchisees than it does royalties on the golden arches
- 1956McDonald's Flywheel Was a 1956 Land-and-Sublease Model, Now Worth $37.7 Billion
The full data sheet · Data Plan
Everything behind these findings, ready for your board deck.
- Market reaction to disclosed decisions: 35 decision filings since 2016, each linked to the SEC, with the share return against its sector and the S&P 500 the next day and the next year (35 with market data).
- Economic context: 7 measures for the United States, every year since 2016, from the official sources.
- Peer comparison: against 71 companies of its size in its sector.
- Financial results: ten years of revenue, operating and net income, and every annual report, linked.
- Methods and sources, so each number can be checked and cited.
The full data sheet downloads with the Data Plan. To see exactly what you get first, open the Boeing sample PDF or Excel.