Who owns McDonald's?
McDonald's is owned by McDonald's Corporation (the United States, NYSE: MCD).[1]
Key facts
- Current owner
- McDonald's Corporation verified
- Owned since
- Not recorded
- Previous owner
- None recorded
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, Chicago, Illinois
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States, San Bernardino, California
- Founded
- 1940
- Category
- Restaurants & foodservice › Quick-service restaurants › Burger & chicken chains
- Parent ticker
- NYSE: MCD
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About McDonald's
McDonald's operates or franchises around forty thousand restaurants in more than a hundred countries. The Big Mac, created by a Pittsburgh franchisee in 1967, is used by The Economist as an informal measure of purchasing power parity between currencies. The company earns much of its profit from property, leasing sites to its own franchisees.
Ownership timeline of McDonald's
- 1940 – present McDonald's [1] verified
Where McDonald's sits in McDonald's
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full McDonald's ownership tree →
Other brands owned by McDonald's
Latest news about McDonald's
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Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of McDonald's?
The parent company of McDonald's is McDonald's Corporation, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
Is McDonald's American?
Yes. McDonald's originated in the United States in 1940 and its owner, McDonald's Corporation, is also headquartered in the United States.
Is McDonald's still owned by McDonald's Corporation?
Yes. As of 6 September 2026, McDonald's is still owned by McDonald's Corporation. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] McDonald's Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-24 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 24 February 2026; retrieved 6 September 2026.
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