McDonald's shares, MCD share prices on the Stock Exchange

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ISIN code: US5801351017
Sector: Consumer services
Industry: Restaurants

Le actions of McDonald's are listed on the NYSE US market under the ticker MCD.

View the stock's NYSE listing history

Company Description

McDonald's Corporation it's a'American company operating in the fast food restaurant sector. Founded in 1940, it is headquartered in Chicago. In its restaurants, it sells sandwiches, salads, snacks, chips, ice cream, drinks and croissants. The meats used are beef and chicken.
Among the most famous products we find the Big Mac, the McChicken, the Cheeseburger and the McFlurry.

McDonald's operates fast food restaurants either directly through subsidiaries or indirectly through franchises. Direct restaurants account for about 70% of the total.

McDonald's restaurants are spread all over the world. They are considered one of the symbols of globalization and the hectic and consumerist lifestyle. The newspaper The Economist, uses “Big Mac Index” to analyze purchasing power in various world currencies; The “Big Mac Index” is a comparison of the cost of a Big Mac in various currencies to informally judge purchasing power parity.

Until 2018 it was the largest fast food chain in the world by points of sale, overtaken by its rival S

McDonald's is the world's largest restaurant chain by revenue. It serves approximately 69 million customers in 120 countries every day. There are over 38.000 points of sale around the globe. In Italy there are 600 points of sale.

It has approximately 420.000 direct employees and almost 2 million if franchised stores are also considered. This figure makes McDonald's the second largest private employer in the world after Wallmart.

McDonald's, in 2020, is in ninth place for global brand evaluation.

The main revenues of the company come from the European market with about 40% of the revenues. The second market is the American one with 32%.

McDonald's Corporation shares are traded on the NYSE, New York Stock Exchange and are included in the calculation of the US index Dow-Jones.

I main shareholders of McDonald's, as of June 2021, are:

• Vanguard Group 8,65%
• Blackrock Inc 6,80%
• State Street Corporation 4,88%
• Wellington Management Group, LLP 3,81%
• JP Morgan Chase & Company 1,68%
• Geode Capital Management LLC 1,65%
• Bank of America Corporation 1,53%
• Northern Trust Corporation 1,36%

The company's shares have had a steady growth. McDonald's has increased shareholder dividends for 25 consecutive years, making it one of the leading companies in the US S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. The company is ranked 131st in the ranking F of the largest US companies by revenue.

McDonald's shares are currently trading at around $238. In July 2021 they reached their all-time high of $246,09 per share.

The tagline is "I'm loving it".

Economic and financial analysis of the company

McDonald's was born from the work of the brothers Dick and Mac McDonald when the two opened a hot dog stand in Arcadia, California. The first restaurant, named “McDonald's Bar-BQ”, opens in San Bernardino.

However, the real success of the company comes when Ray Kroc founds the “McDonald's Systems, Inc.” (renamed “McDonald's Corporation”) which facilitates franchising for new restaurants. 

In 1961, Ray Kroc acquired the company from the McDonald brothers for approximately $2,7 million.

At the end of the sixties, its worldwide expansion began. In 1967 he opened a restaurant in Canada and later in Latin America, Japan. In 1971 he opened the first fast food restaurant in Europe in Zaandam, Holland. The first restaurant in Italy was opened in Bolzano in 1985 and the second in Rome in 1986.

Another big step for the company was the opening of the Mcdrive, drive through, where you can order menus without getting out of your car. In Italy, the first McDrive was opened in 1994. In the United States alone, 70% of McDonald's sales derive from the McDrive.

In 2012, in India, it opened its first vegetarian fast food restaurant to extend its clientele to Hindus, Muslims and all those who cannot or do not wish to eat beef or pork or cheese.

In recent years, with the evolution of delivery services, McDonald's has also activated home deliveries.

McDonald's, to focus on its core brand, has begun divesting the other chains it acquired in the 90s. The company owned a majority stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill until October 2006, Until December 2003, owned donuts pizza. On August 27, 2007, McDonald's sold the Boston market a Sun Capital Partners. In 2001 McDonald's took over 33% of the English company “Prêt à eat”which he will subsequently sell in 2008 to the private equity fund Bridgepoint Capital.

In January 2017, 80% of the franchise rights in mainland China and Hong Kong were sold for US$2,08 billion to a consortium of CITIC Limited (for 32%) and private equity funds managed by CITIC Capital (for 20%) and Carlyle (for 20%).

In 2006, the Walt Disney does not renew the billion-dollar partnership to exploit Disney character rights. The deal, signed in 1995, was strategic for McDonald's marketing campaigns. Only in 2018 did he renew his contract with Disney for the promotion of the films Incredibles 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet.

In Italy in 1995 it acquires the main competitor the Italian company burghy, owned by the Cremonini SpA. Thanks to this agreement, the Emilian company becomes the sole supplier of beef for the US company in Italy.