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How McDonald's (MCD) makes money: Q2 2026 revenue breakdown
US GAAP · $M · vs Q2 2025 · reported 08/04/2026
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food restaurant chain. · Wikipedia
More about the company
Founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California, the company has grown into one of the world's largest restaurant chains. At the end of 2025, the McDonald's system comprised 45,356 restaurants in more than 100 countries, approximately 95% of which were operated by franchisees.
Key growth driver: Franchised Revenues — the fastest-growing revenue line: $4,393, +4% y/y. · by the Q2 2026 report
How does McDonald's make money?
McDonald's brought in $7.10 billion of revenue in Q2 2026, up 4% year over year. The largest source was Franchised Revenues: $4.39 billion, or 62% of the total, followed by Company-operated Sales ($2.52B, 36%); other lines add the remaining 3%. Net income for the quarter was $2.36 billion, up 5% year over year.
Revenue by source, Q2 2026
- Franchised Revenues$4.39B · 62% · +4%
- Company-operated Sales$2.52B · 36% · +3%
- Other Revenues$182M · 3% · +6%
Shares of $7.10B total revenue; changes are year over year, as reported. ≈ marks lines derived from disclosed totals. The same flows are drawn in the Sankey chart below.
When is MCD’s next earnings date?
Wednesday, November 4, 2026estimated
McDonald's (MCD) has not confirmed the date yet; Nov 4, 2026 is an estimate based on the company's past reporting schedule and may move once the date is announced. Consensus EPS forecast: $3.37 (10 analysts), vs $3.22 in the same quarter last year.
What time does MCD report? Usually before market open: the last 4 results releases reached the SEC at 7:01 am, 7:01 am, 4:02 pm, 7:01 am ET.
Last report: Aug 4, 2026 (Q2 2026) — broken down in the Sankey chart below. Dates and consensus: Nasdaq / Zacks Investment Research; companies do reschedule. Who else reports this week →
All figures in $M.
Revenue
$7,099
+4%
Gross profit
$4,118
+5%
Operating income
$3,338
+3%
Net income
$2,362
+5%
EPS $3.32 · +6%
Verdict: a solid, steady quarter — revenue and net income both up mid-single digits on higher franchised margins and other operating income, though U.S. comparable sales growth slowed sharply to just 0.8% and restructuring charges continue to shave a few cents off EPS.
Diluted EPS $3.32 (+6%), non-GAAP EPS $3.38 excluding $52M restructuring charges; Systemwide sales +5% to $37B; global comparable sales +1.3%.
Source and notation
* marks non-cash / ≈ estimated. Source: McDonald's Corporation press release / 10-Q (SEC EDGAR).
Open the chart as a PNG image ↗ · for sharing and presentations · free to reuse, CC BY 4.0
MCD earnings history: past report dates
| Aug 4, 2026 Tue | 7:01 ambefore market open | Jun 30, 2026 | $7.1B+4% y/y | $3.32+6% y/y |
| May 7, 2026 Thu | 7:01 ambefore market open | Mar 31, 2026 | $6.5B+9% y/y | $2.78+7% y/y |
| Feb 11, 2026 Wed | 4:02 pmafter market close | Dec 31, 2025 | ≈$7.0B+10% y/y | ≈$3.03+8% y/y |
| Nov 5, 2025 Wed | 7:01 ambefore market open | Sep 30, 2025 | $7.1B+3% y/y | $3.18+2% y/y |
| Aug 6, 2025 Wed | 7:02 ambefore market open | Jun 30, 2025 | $6.8B+5% y/y | $3.14+12% y/y |
| May 1, 2025 Thu | 7:02 ambefore market open | Mar 31, 2025 | $6.0B−3% y/y | $2.60−2% y/y |
| Feb 10, 2025 Mon | 7:02 ambefore market open | Dec 31, 2024 | ≈$6.4B−0% y/y | ≈$2.80+0% y/y |
| Oct 29, 2024 Tue | 7:04 ambefore market open | Sep 30, 2024 | $6.9B+3% y/y | $3.13−1% y/y |
How we count
Report date and time — when the company filed its results press release with the SEC (Form 8-K, Item 2.02); the regular session runs 9:30 am – 4:00 pm ET. Revenue and diluted EPS — the company’s XBRL filings, EPS adjusted for stock splits; ≈ — fourth quarter derived as full year minus three quarters. Source: SEC EDGAR.
McDonald's: 5-year financials
| 2025 | 26,885 | 12,393 | 8,563 | 7,186 | 5,115 |
| 2024 | 25,920 | 11,712 | 8,223 | 6,672 | 4,870 |
| 2023 | 25,494 | 11,647 | 8,469 | 7,255 | 4,533 |
| 2022 | 23,183 | 9,371 | 6,177 | 5,488 | 4,168 |
| 2021 | 23,223 | 10,356 | 7,545 | 7,102 | 3,919 |
$ millions, annual 10-K reports on SEC EDGAR (US GAAP).
How we calculate
Figures are the annual report lines as filed, no adjustments. Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures; dividends are cash paid to common shareholders during the year. “—” means the line isn’t in the filing.
Corporate governance
1.5/2mostly good
How the company treats minority shareholders: 2 — well, 0 — systematically poorly.
More
- Jan 2023The SEC found that McDonald's violated proxy disclosure requirements (Section 14(a)) over the separation agreement with CEO Steve Easterbrook; the company consented to a cease-and-desist order, and no penalty was imposed because of its cooperation. sec.gov ↗
- Feb 20262025 10-K: a single class of common stock; no material shareholder suits or SEC investigations. sec.gov ↗
- Dec 2025Dividend per share rose from $5.04 (2020) to $7.17 (2025); diluted share count −4.5% over 5 years. data.sec.gov ↗
Scoring: 2.0 −0.5 (criterion 10: in 2023 the SEC found McDonald's violated disclosure rules (Section 14(a)) over the terms of CEO Easterbrook's separation; cease-and-desist order with no penalty) = 1.5
- Share classes
- Single class — MCD common stock on the NYSE (cover of 2025 10-K).
- Dilution
- Diluted share count 2020→2025 −4.5% (XBRL); SBC 0.6% of revenue.
- Disclosure
- Full 10-K/10-Q reporting; the incomplete disclosure of the CEO's separation terms is accounted for under criterion 10.
- Dividends
- Dividend per share raised every year: $5.04 (2020) → $7.17 (2025); buybacks of $0.9–3.9B a year.
- Lawsuits & regulators
- SEC order of January 9, 2023: violation of Section 14(a) and Rule 14a-3 (failure to disclose that the CEO's termination was treated as "without cause," letting him keep his equity), cease-and-desist order with no penalty — 0.5 deduction; no shareholder disclosure suits found in 10-Ks for 2007–2026.
- Related parties
- The 2026 proxy discloses no material related-party transactions; no controlling shareholder.
How the score works · checked as of Sep 2026
McDonald's (MCD) earnings: FAQ
How does McDonald's make money?
McDonald's brought in $7.10 billion of revenue in Q2 2026, up 4% year over year. The largest source was Franchised Revenues: $4.39 billion, or 62% of the total, followed by Company-operated Sales ($2.52B, 36%); other lines add the remaining 3%. Net income for the quarter was $2.36 billion, up 5% year over year.
When is MCD's next earnings date?
McDonald's (MCD) has not confirmed the date yet; Nov 4, 2026 is an estimate based on its past reporting schedule.
What time does MCD report earnings?
McDonald's usually reports before market open: its latest results release was filed with the SEC at 7:01 am ET on Aug 4, 2026.
When did MCD last report earnings?
McDonald's reported Q2 2026 results on Aug 4, 2026.
What is the EPS estimate for MCD's next earnings?
The consensus EPS forecast is $3.37 (10 analysts), vs $3.22 in the same quarter last year.
Where can I find McDonald's's financial statements?
On SEC EDGAR: quarterly reports (10-Q), the annual report (10-K) and earnings releases (8-K). The “Verified” badge next to the chart links to MCD's filings; this page breaks the latest report down in a Sankey chart.
What was MCD's net income in Q2 2026?
McDonald's reported net income of $2,362M for Q2 2026 (+5% year over year), under US GAAP.
Does McDonald's pay dividends?
Yes. In 2025, McDonald's paid $5,115M in dividends on its common stock, per its 10-K. Earlier years are in the five-year table above.
New to earnings reports? Start with how to read an earnings report.
How this page was made: the figures come from the company's own report on SEC EDGAR; the summary and nuances were drafted by our model from that report. Figures checked against the filing on 08/25/2026. How we make the breakdowns · Report an error
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