Franchise Facts Report → brands → McDonald's
McDonald's franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
McDonald's is a quick-service restaurant brand with a substantial investment range of $701,000 to $2,807,000.
Everything below is free, read straight off McDonald's's registered filing. The $99 report is the part a single FDD can't give you: the earnings figures themselves, and where every number lands against quick-service restaurant peers.
The numbers above tell you what McDonald's discloses. The report tells you whether that's good:
- The earnings figures themselves — the average unit revenue McDonald's puts on paper in Item 19, and what it does and doesn't include.
- Where every number ranks — investment, fees, royalty, earnings and churn against quick-service restaurant median and quartile. This is the part no single FDD, and no AI reading one, can produce.
- What's driving the medium risk read — the specific figures behind it, not the label.
- The litigation, split properly — beyond the count above: each case, and which ones franchisees brought against the franchisor rather than the reverse.
- The questions to ask before you sign — drawn from what McDonald's's own filing leaves open, in the words to use on the call.
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Compare 3 brands — $249 See a sample reportFigures above are as disclosed in McDonald's's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 640986 — check it yourself. The Item 19 figures, where each number ranks against peers, and the litigation & churn detail are in the full report.
How much does a McDonald's franchise make?
McDonald's is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The average revenue McDonald's reports, what that figure does and doesn't include, and where it ranks against quick-service restaurant peers are in the full report. See every quick-service restaurant brand that discloses earnings in the Fast food & quick-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
McDonald's franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come McDonald's's 5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a McDonald's franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "McDonald's franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. The full report sets McDonald's's disclosed revenue against its total ongoing fee load, so you can see what that revenue has to cover before anything reaches you.
McDonald's lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
McDonald's's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose legal proceedings in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against McDonald's itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. The full McDonald's report lists each case with what it was about and how it ended, separates franchisee disputes from corporate and securities matters, and flags the ones a franchisee started — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for.
McDonald's closures & failure rate
Before you sign, McDonald's will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what McDonald's's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a quick-service restaurant of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. McDonald's's latest tables show a growing franchised network. The actual closure and termination counts, and how McDonald's's churn ranks against quick-service restaurant peers, are in the full report.
The Item 19 earnings figures, every number ranked against quick-service restaurant peers, and the litigation and churn detail — delivered instantly, yours to keep.
Not useful? Reply to your delivery email within 14 days for a refund — no forms, no argument.
Who owns McDonald's?
McDonald's's franchise is offered by McDonald's USA, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Quick-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing McDonald's is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
McDonald's franchise — frequently asked
Who owns McDonald's — who is the franchisor?
McDonald's's most recently filed FDD (2026) names McDonald's USA, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a McDonald's franchise cost?
McDonald's's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $701,000 – $2,807,000 and a 5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. The full report breaks down every fee line and benchmarks it against quick-service restaurant peers.
How much profit does a McDonald's franchise make?
McDonald's discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (5% of gross for McDonald's), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any McDonald's franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The full report shows the disclosed revenue against the full ongoing fee load it has to cover.
Does McDonald's disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — McDonald's reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The full report shows the actual revenue figures and how they rank against quick-service restaurant peers.
Are there lawsuits against McDonald's?
McDonald's's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses legal proceedings in Item 3. Item 3 covers the franchisor, its predecessors, parents and affiliates — so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against McDonald's itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing. The full report lists each case, separates franchisee disputes from corporate and securities matters, and flags the franchisee-initiated ones.
Is McDonald's a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from McDonald's's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against quick-service restaurant peers, which is what the full report is for. Our read on this filing is medium risk, stated free above. For $99 you get the figures driving that read, the actual Item 19 earnings (disclosed in this FDD), where every figure ranks against peers, and the specific questions to ask the franchisor before you sign.
A McDonald's franchise is a $701,000 – $2,807,000 decision you make once, on a ten-year agreement, usually with a personal guarantee behind it. For $99 you get an independent read of the document that decides it: the actual Item 19 earnings, every figure ranked against quick-service restaurant peers, the litigation split into franchisee and corporate matters, the churn behind the outlet count — and the questions to put to the franchisor before you sign. If it tells you nothing new, reply within 14 days and we'll refund it.
Not useful? Reply to your delivery email within 14 days for a refund — no forms, no argument.
Compare 3 brands — $249Get a free email when something changes on McDonald's or quick-service restaurant: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same registries every report is built on.