Who owns McDonald's?
McDonald's is owned by McDonald's Corporation (the United States, NYSE: MCD).[1]
Evidence: McDonald's Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-24, SEC EDGAR, 24 February 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- McDonald's Corporation verified
- 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
- Current owner 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 →
See the full McDonald's brand portfolio (2) →
Other brands owned by McDonald's
McDonald's controls 2 brands on Brandtree, 2 of them in restaurants & foodservice.
Also in restaurants & foodservice
- McCafé (1993)
Other brands in burger & chicken chains, and who owns them
The 39 brands in burger & chicken chains on Brandtree belong to 24 owners. The largest is Jollibee Group, with 5.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Chowking | Jollibee Group | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
| Arby's | Inspire Brands | 🇺🇸 United States |
| KFC | Yum! Brands | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Chester's | CP Foods | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| Burger King | Restaurant Brands International | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| Papa Murphy's | MTY Group | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| Wimpy (Middle East) | Americana Restaurants | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates |
| Steak n Shake | Biglari Holdings | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: McDonald's
McDonald's is a publicly listed company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded in 1955. Brandtree records 2 brands under its control, and it is listed as NYSE: MCD.
McDonald's traces to a San Bernardino drive-in the McDonald brothers reorganised in 1948 around a limited menu and an assembly line. Ray Kroc franchised the system from 1955 and bought the brothers out in 1961. It is the largest restaurant company in the world by revenue and one of the largest property owners.
🇺🇸 McDonald's and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,570 brands that began in the United States. 492 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; McDonald's is not one of them.
- Applebee's — Dine Brands 🇺🇸
- Arby's — Inspire Brands 🇺🇸
- Baja Fresh — MTY Group 🇨🇦
- Bonefish Grill — Bloomin' Brands 🇺🇸
- Burger King — Restaurant Brands International 🇨🇦
- Caribou Coffee — Panera Brands 🇺🇸
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 29 October 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 16 September 2026.
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