McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food restaurant chain. 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.
The McDonald brothers introduced their streamlined food-production system, later known as the Speedee Service System, during the 1940s. The Golden Arches design was introduced in 1953. Businessman Ray Kroc became a McDonald's franchise agent in 1955 and opened a restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. He purchased the brothers' ownership stake in the company in 1961 and oversaw its domestic and international expansion.
McDonald's generates revenue from sales at company-operated restaurants and from rent, royalties, and fees paid by franchisees. At the end of 2025, the company owned approximately 56% of the land and 80% of the restaurant buildings within its consolidated markets. McDonald's directly employed more than 150,000 people, while more than two million additional people worked at independently operated franchised restaurants.
The company's menu is centered on hamburgers and French fries, with other offerings including chicken, breakfast items, soft drinks, coffee, desserts, and products adapted to local markets. Its best-known products include the Big Mac and its French fries. The company has faced criticism concerning the nutritional content of its food, treatment of animals, environmental impact, and employee wages and working conditions.
History
Origin Siblings Richard and Maurice McDonald, with the goal of making $1 million before they turned 50, opened the first McDonald's at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino, California, on May 15, 1940.
Speedee Service System The McDonald brothers introduced the "Speedee Service System" in 1948, putting into expanded use the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant that predecessor White Castle had put into practice more than two decades earlier. When the brothers made the Speedee Service System, they fired their 20 carhops, removed their silverware and plates for paper wrappings and cups so that they no longer needed a dishwasher, and simplified their menu to just nine items: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, three soft drink flavors in one 12-ounce size, milk, coffee, potato chips and pie. "Our whole concept was based on speed, lower prices, and volume," Richard McDonald later said.
Mascots The original mascot of McDonald's was a hamburger-headed chef who was referred to as "Speedee". In 1962, the Golden Arches replaced Speedee as the universal mascot. Clown mascot Ronald McDonald was introduced in 1963 to market the chain to children.
Ray Kroc The present corporation credits its founding to franchised businessman Ray Kroc on April 15, 1955. This was the ninth opened McDonald's restaurant overall, although this location was demolished in 1984. Kroc was recorded as being an aggressive business partner, driving the McDonald brothers out of the industry.
Kroc and the McDonald brothers fought for control of the business, as documented in Kroc's autobiography. In 1961, he purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company and began the company's worldwide reach. The sale cost Kroc $2.7 million (worth almost $ in the current day). The San Bernardino restaurant was eventually torn down in 1971, and the site was sold to the Juan Pollo chain in 1998. This area serves as headquarters for the Juan Pollo chain, and a McDonald's and Route 66 museum. With the expansion of McDonald's into many international markets, the company has become a symbol of globalization and the spread of the American way of life.
Changes In 1994, McDonald's banned smoking at the 1,400 United States locations it wholly owned. In 2006, McDonald's introduced its "Forever Young" brand by redesigning all of its restaurants. The restaurants were turned into cafe-esque space, being mostly terracotta, grey, and olive. The redesigned restaurants were also primarily furnished with wood furniture.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, McDonald's closed most seating and all play areas in its United States restaurants. It transitioned to drive-through and curbside orders at locations and online food ordering delivery services.
Products
Menu
McDonald's predominantly sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, various types of chicken, chicken sandwiches, French fries, soft drinks, shakes, breakfast items, and desserts. In most markets, McDonald's offers salads and vegetarian items, wraps and other localized fare. On a seasonal basis, McDonald's offers the McRib sandwich. During March of each year, McDonald's offers a Shamrock Shake to honor Saint Patrick's Day. The company often introduces items temporarily or brings them back after long absences.
McDonald's has offered the Happy Meal, a kids' meal, since June 1979, typically including a small toy or book packaged with the food.
In addition, the chain also sells some items within the United States on a regional basis; for example, the Hatch Green Chile Double Cheeseburger, which is topped with New Mexico green chile, is only available in the southwestern state of New Mexico.
In 2021, the company cut value meals and cheaper items from its menu as part of a focus on higher-priced items.
Health improvements When Steve Easterbrook became CEO of the company in 2015, McDonald's streamlined the menu which in the United States contained nearly 200 items. The company looked to introduce healthier options and removed high-fructose corn syrup from hamburger buns. The company removed artificial preservatives from Chicken McNuggets, replacing chicken skin, safflower oil and citric acid found in Chicken McNuggets with pea starch, rice starch, and powdered lemon juice.
In September 2018, McDonald's USA announced that they no longer use artificial preservatives, flavors and colors in seven classic burgers sold in the U.S., including the hamburger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, McDouble, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, double Quarter Pounder with Cheese and the Big Mac. The pickles will still be made with an artificial preservative, although customers can choose to opt out of getting pickles with their burgers.
McPlant In November 2020, McDonald's announced McPlant, a plant-based burger, along with plans to develop additional meat alternative menu items that extend to chicken substitutes and breakfast sandwiches. This announcement came after the successful testing of Beyond Meat plant based meat substitutes.
In late 2022, McDonald's announced the addition of the Double McPlant at all restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland starting January 4 due to the success of the McPlant. In 2024, select McDonald's in the UK were testing vegan ice cream called Choco Scoop and Strawberry Scoop and receiving positive reviews.
International menu variations
Asia McDonald's menu is customized to reflect consumer tastes in their respective countries. Restaurants in several countries, particularly in Asia, serve soup. This local deviation from the standard menu is a characteristic for which the chain is particularly known and one which is employed either to abide by regional food taboos (such as the religious prohibition of beef consumption in India) or to make available foods with which the regional market is more familiar (such as the sale of McRice in Indonesia, or Ebi (prawn) Burger in Singapore and Japan). McDonald's restaurants in China include fried buns and soybean milk on their breakfast menus.
In partnership with the Central Food Technological Research Institute in India, McDonald's has introduced millet-based buns on September 4, 2024. Three major (Pearl millet, Sorghum, and Finger millet) and two minor (Proso and Paspalum scrobiculatum) millets are used which makes up 22% of the bun. It provides more calcium, iron, and protein in addition to a small amount of complex carbs to aid in satiety more quickly.
Europe Throughout Europe, the McDonald's menu may be altered or feature country-exclusive items to suit national tastes. For example, a cheeseburger in Switzerland may include Gruyère cheese, and caldo verde is served in Portugal.In France, McDonald's is colloquially called "McDo". They sell macaroons, Croque McDos, croissants, pain au chocolat, and beer. In Germany and some other Western European countries, McDonald's also sells beer. In Greece, the signature hamburger, Big Mac, is changed by adding Tzatziki sauce and packaging in a pita.
Oceania In New Zealand, until 2020, McDonald's sold meat pies after local affiliate McDonald's New Zealand (known locally as "Macca's") partially relaunched the Georgie Pie fast food chain it bought out in 1996. In Australia, the "McOz" burger, containing beetroot, is perennially available, as are fries dusted in Vegemite.
North America After limited regional trials, McDonald's began offering a partial breakfast menu during all hours its restaurants were open in the United States and Canada in 2015 and 2017, respectively. All-day breakfast was phased out from menus in the United States at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The all-day breakfast menu is still available in select locations across Canada.
Meal Deal The Meal Deal, created in 2024, is one of the restaurant's current McValue Menu offerings. It was created to be a budget friendly meal and offers customers the choice of a McChicken, McDouble, or Daily Double in addition to two sides and a drink. The Meal Deal joins the under $3 selections as McDonald’s sole McValue offerings aside from deals accessible via the McDonald’s app.
+Meal DealPriceMcChicken$5.00McDouble$5.50Daily Double$6.00
Types of McDonald's locations and McDonald's subsidiaries In the United States, most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both counter service and drive-through service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating.
In 1994, McDonald's attempted Hearth Express, a prototype specializing in homestyle takeout meals. Among the fare offered were meatloaf, fried chicken, and baked ham. This experiment started with a single location in Darien, Illinois but closed after one year.
McDrive Drive-Thru, Auto-Mac, Pay and Drive, or "McDrive" as it is known in many countries, often has separate stations for placing, paying for, and picking up orders while the customer remains in their vehicle; it was first introduced in Sierra Vista, Arizona in 1975, following the lead of other fast-food chains. The first such restaurant in Britain opened at Fallowfield, Manchester, in 1986. In some countries, McDrive locations near highways offer no counter service or seating. In contrast, locations in high-density city neighborhoods often omit drive-through service. There are also a few locations, mostly in downtown districts, that offer a "Walk-Thru" service in place of Drive-Thru.
McCafé
McCafé is a café-style accompaniment to McDonald's restaurants. The concept was created by McDonald's Australia, starting with Melbourne in 1993. In China, McCafé has expanded through small-format retail concepts such as kiosks, walk-up stands, and mobile coffee trucks. These formats support high-density areas and office districts where full restaurant build-outs are impractical.
McDonald's Next McDonald's Next uses open-concept design and offers "Create Your Taste" digital ordering. The concept store also offers free mobile device charging and table service after 6:00 pm. The first store opened in Hong Kong in December 2015. The buildings are not colorful, and instead use more natural colors, like from concrete and unpolished oak.
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