McDonald's

McDonald's is a big American company that owns a lot of fast food restaurants all around the world. It was started in 1940 by two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California. They began with a small hamburger stand, and soon people started to want their food in other places. A man named Ray Kroc helped the company grow, and now there are more than 40,000 McDonald's restaurants in many countries.

McDonald's is well-known for its french fries and Big Mac hamburgers, but they also sell many other foods like cheeseburgers, chicken, fish, fruit, and salads. Besides selling food, McDonald's also owns many of the buildings where its restaurants are located and rents them out.

Even though McDonald's is very popular, it has also faced some criticism for the health of its food, how it treats animals, and the wages it pays its workers. Still, it remains one of the biggest employers in the world, with millions of people working in its restaurants.

History

Main article: History of McDonald's

Brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald's in San Bernardino, California on May 15, 1940. They wanted to earn $1 million before turning 50.

In 1948, they created the "Speedee Service System." This made their restaurant faster and cheaper. They stopped serving carhops, used paper instead of plates, and simplified their menu to just nine items like hamburgers, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and pie.

In 1962, the Golden Arches became McDonald's new mascot, replacing a chef named "Speedee." In 1963, they introduced Ronald McDonald, a clown, to attract children.

Businessman Ray Kroc joined McDonald's in 1955. He helped the company grow worldwide. By 1961, he had bought the McDonald brothers' share of the business.

In 1994, McDonald's stopped allowing smoking in its U.S. restaurants. In 2006, they redesigned their restaurants to look more like cafes. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, McDonald's closed seating and play areas, focusing on drive-through, curbside, and online food ordering services.

Products

Main article: List of McDonald's products

McDonald's mainly sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken, chicken sandwiches, french fries, soft drinks, shakes, breakfast items, and desserts. In many places, they also offer salads, vegetarian choices, wraps, and special foods like the McRib sandwich in the spring and the Shamrock Shake for Saint Patrick's Day. Sometimes they bring back old favorite foods or add new ones for a little while.

McDonald's also has special foods in different places. For example, in New Mexico, you can find a special cheeseburger with green chilis. In 2021, McDonald's stopped selling some cheaper meals to focus on more expensive ones.

When Steve Easterbrook became the leader of McDonald's in 2015, they made changes to make their food healthier. They took out some ingredients from their hamburgers and chicken pieces to make them better for you.

In 2020, McDonald's introduced a plant-based burger called McPlant and planned to make more plant-based foods like chicken and breakfast items. In 2022, they added a Double McPlant burger in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In 2024, some McDonald's in the UK started testing vegan ice cream.

McDonald's changes its menu to fit what people in different countries like to eat. For example, in Asia, they might add soup or special foods like McRice in Indonesia. In India, they use special buns made from millet to respect local food rules. In Europe, you might find different cheeses or foods like macaroons in France. In New Zealand, they used to sell meat pies, and in Australia, they have a burger with beetroot. In the United States and Canada, they used to offer breakfast all day, but stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, though some places in Canada still have it.

In 2024, McDonald's created the Meal Deal, a budget-friendly option that includes a choice of a McChicken, McDouble, or Daily Double, along with two sides and a drink.

Types of McDonald's locations and McDonald's subsidiaries

In the United States, most McDonald's restaurants have both counter service and drive-through service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating.

In 1994, McDonald's tried a new idea called Hearth Express, which sold homestyle takeout meals like meatloaf, fried chicken, and baked ham. It started with one location in Darien, Illinois but closed after one year.

McDrive

Drive-Thru service, also called McDrive in many countries, lets customers place, pay for, and pick up orders while staying in their car; it started in Sierra Vista, Arizona in 1975. The first McDrive in Britain opened in Fallowfield, Manchester, in 1986. Some McDrive locations near highways don’t have counter service or seating, while others in busy city areas don’t have drive-through service. A few locations, mostly in downtown areas, offer a "Walk-Thru" service instead of Drive-Thru.

McCafé

Main article: McCafé

McCafé is a café-style addition to McDonald's restaurants. It started in Melbourne in 1993. In China, McCafé has grown with small shops, walk-up stands, and mobile coffee trucks in busy areas and office districts.

McDonald's Next

McDonald's Next uses an open design and offers "Create Your Taste" digital ordering. These stores also have free mobile device charging and table service after 6:00 pm. The first one opened in Hong Kong in December 2015. They use natural colors like concrete and unpolished oak instead of bright colors.

PlayPlaces

Main article: PlayPlace

McDonald's playgrounds were once called Playlands and were outside. After safety concerns, McDonald's moved them inside and made them out of softer materials, like plastic instead of metal. They were renamed PlayPlaces in 1987.

McExpress and McStop

Some McDonald's locations are connected to gas stations and convenience stores, while others called McExpress have limited seating or menu options or may be in a shopping mall. Other McDonald's are inside Walmart stores. McStop locations are meant for truckers and travelers and may have services found at truck stops.

CosMc's

Main article: CosMc's

In July 2023, McDonald's announced a new fast-food brand called CosMc's, tested at 10 sites. The first one opened in December 2023 in Bolingbrook, Illinois. These locations were smaller and focused on selling coffee and other drinks for afternoon customers.

The name CosMc's came from a McDonaldland mascot from the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Although four more locations opened in Texas, McDonald's said in May 2025 that all CosMc's locations would close and the app would be removed by the end of June that year. Some CosMc's drink flavors will be tried in other U.S. McDonald's locations.

Corporate overview

Statistics

McDonald's restaurants are found in 120 countries and serve 68 million customers each day. As of 2023, there are 41,800 McDonald's locations and 45,000 employees in the United States.

McDonald's started offering food delivery in 2017 with a partnership with Uber Eats and later added DoorDash in 2019, and Grubhub in 2021. This delivery service makes up to 3% of all their business.

Business trends

Business model

Ownership

McDonald's owns the land for many of its restaurants, valued at about $42 billion. The company makes a lot of money from rent paid by restaurants that are not owned by McDonald's. Between 2010 and 2015, this rent grew by 26%, making up one-fifth of the company's money.

McDonald's teaches its restaurant owners and managers at special schools called Hamburger Universities. These schools are in Oak Brook, Tokyo, London, Sydney, Munich, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Moscow. In other countries, McDonald's works with local businesses or governments to run restaurants.

McDonald's has a motto called QSC&V, which stands for Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Value. This motto guides how they run their restaurants.

Workers

McDonald's has many workers, and they encourage them to stay healthy by doing fun activities like singing songs to reduce stress, going to church services, and taking vacations.

Headquarters

In 2016, McDonald's moved its main office to Chicago's West Loop neighborhood. The new office building opened in 2018.

The old office was in Oak Brook, Illinois. McDonald's moved there from Chicago Loop in 1971.

Board of directors

As of December 2024, the board of directors includes leaders from many big companies. Chris Kempczinski is the chairman and CEO of McDonald's.

Ownership

Global operations

McDonald's is known around the world. Some people even use the price of a Big Mac to compare how strong different countries' money is.

McDonald's stopped working in some places when there were big problems, like when Russia took over Crimea in 2014. They also closed restaurants in Russia in 2022 because of the war in Ukraine.

McDonald's has done many fun things in different countries. In China, they opened restaurants in big museums like The Louvre. In India, they have restaurants that only serve vegetarian food. In Germany, they even have a boat that serves food on a river!

International influence

McDonald's employee relations

See also: McDonald's and unions

Since the late 1990s, McDonald's has used technology to change how employees work. They started testing electronic machines in some restaurants to take orders and handle payments. These machines were meant to save money and let customers spend more.

In 2017, McDonald's created an app so customers could order food before they arrived at the restaurant. Some restaurants even have special parking spots for people using the app. In 2023, McDonald's opened a restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas where most ordering was done using machines, and employees were only there to help if something went wrong.

In some places, workers have had concerns about their jobs. In the United States, workers in many cities shared issues about safety and training. In the United Kingdom, many workers were on flexible work schedules, which changed often. These changes caused some workers to protest for better working conditions.

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of McDonald's

McDonald's has faced many questions and concerns about its business. In 2001, a book called Fast Food Nation talked about how McDonald's uses its influence and advertises to children. In 2014, McDonald's started a campaign called "Our Food. Your Questions." where they let customers ask about their food and showed videos about how their food is made.

People have also asked about the health of McDonald's food. A film in 2004 suggested that McDonald's food might help people gain weight. After that, McDonald's stopped offering very large portions and added more healthy choices to its menu. They also changed the oil they use for frying to be healthier.

There have been questions about how animals are treated in McDonald's food supply. The company has worked to use eggs from hens that are not kept in small cages.

McDonald's has been part of many legal cases. In some places, they have fought to protect their brand names. In others, they have faced questions about how they treat their workers. In 2023, a U.S. government check found that some McDonald's places used workers who were too young, which is not allowed.

Marketing and advertising

McDonald's has run many ads for years. They use TV, radio, newspapers, billboards, and signs. They also sponsor sports events like Little League, the FIFA World Cup, and the Olympic Games. TV has been very important for their ads. They have used 23 different slogans in the United States and some special ones in other places.

Main articles: Ronald McDonald and McDonaldland

McDonald's uses playgrounds, games, and toys to attract children to their restaurants.

Celebrity endorsements

Sports

In 1992, basketball player Michael Jordan became the first celebrity to have a McDonald's meal named after him, called the "McJordan." It was only sold in Chicago.

LeBron James spoke for McDonald's from 2003 to 2017.

In January 2025, WNBA player Angel Reese became the first woman to work with McDonald's, creating the Angel Reese Special.

Music

In September 2020, McDonald's worked with rapper Travis Scott to create the "Travis Scott Meal." Scott made new uniforms for McDonald's workers and special items.

In 2021, McDonald's partnered with the Korean boy group BTS to launch the "BTS Meal" in 50 countries.

Space exploration

McDonald's and NASA talked about advertising for a mission to the asteroid 449 Hamburga, but the mission was canceled.

Sponsorship in NASCAR

McDonald's started sponsoring NASCAR races in 1977. They supported different drivers and teams over the years, including Jamie McMurray and Bubba Wallace.

Charity

McHappy Day is a special event held every year at McDonald's. During this day, a part of the money made from sales goes to help others. This event supports the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which helps families get medical care for their children in many countries around the world. In 2022, these charities received over $182 million from McDonald's, its owners, and customers.

In 1995, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital received a very special piece of a McDonald's game that was worth $1 million. McDonald's workers and a helper from a company checked the piece to make sure it was real.

Future plans

McDonald's has many plans to grow, go digital, and help the environment in the years ahead.

The company wants to add 900 restaurants in the U.S. and 10,000 more around the world by 2027. McDonald's also aims to stop cutting down forests in its supply chain by 2030 and plans to cut down its carbon emissions to zero by 2050. They are working with Google to use smart technology in their restaurants and hope to grow their loyalty program and digital ordering services in the coming years.