McDonald's Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a McDonald's franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2024), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
McDonald's discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses avg $3.96M franchised sales + pro forma operating income before occupancy at 3 tiers; excludes rent, royalty, D&A, interest — overstates profitability
McDonald's system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 13,457 |
| Ceased operations | 1 |
| Transferred to new owners | 672 |
From Item 20 of the FDD 2024. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is McDonald's worth it? — how it compares to 164 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 9% of sales | steeper than 68% of quick service restaurants franchises |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 19 | more litigious than 99% of peers |
Benchmarked against every quick service restaurants franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a McDonald's
The franchisor's framing: Discloses avg $3.96M franchised sales + pro forma operating income before occupancy at 3 t… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
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McDonald's franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a McDonald's franchise cost?
- McDonald's's current FDD excerpt doesn't clearly state a total investment range — ask for Item 7 directly.
- How much do McDonald's franchise owners make?
- Discloses avg $3.96M franchised sales + pro forma operating income before occupancy at 3 tiers; excludes rent, royalty, D&A, interest — overstates profitability We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the McDonald's franchise fees?
- McDonald's's FDD excerpt doesn't clearly itemise the fee structure — ask for Items 5 and 6 directly.
- What is the McDonald's franchise profit margin?
- McDonald's does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses avg $3.96M franchised sales + pro forma operating income before occupancy at 3 tiers; excludes rent, royalty, D&A, interest — overstates profitability Recurring fees alone take about 9% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the McDonald's franchise failure rate?
- Turnover data is in Item 20 of the FDD (13,457 outlets).
- How many McDonald's locations are there?
- McDonald's's FDD reports 13,457 total outlets, with 1 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 672 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does McDonald's have complaints or lawsuits?
- McDonald's discloses 19 legal matters in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a McDonald's franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. McDonald's scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 9% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 19 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare McDonald's to similar franchises
See all franchises ranked by disclosure honesty →
Source: MN CARDS doc 00854694 (2024 clean FDD). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with McDonald's or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.