Overview
McDonald’s Corp. is the world’s biggest fast-food marketer.
McDonald’s and its franchisees operate 36,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries.
McDonald’s headquarters is in Chicago.
Datacenter
McDonald’s—ad spending, facts and profile
Stats and facts on the biggest U.S. and global advertisers
Credit:
Ad Age composite
Business segments and operations
Marketing spending
Worldwide ad spending:
Total worldwide advertising spending shown in the Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers report for McDonald’s is Ad Age’s estimate of advertising spending supporting worldwide systemwide franchised and company-operated stores.
U.S. ad spending:
Total U.S. advertising spending shown in the Ad Age Leading National Advertisers report for McDonald’s is Ad Age’s estimate of advertising spending supporting U.S. systemwide franchised and company-operated stores.
Links to Ad Age’s advertiser rankings
Latest rankings: U.S.
The Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2024 ranking was released Oct. 28, 2024.
Past rankings: U.S.
Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2023
Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2022
Latest rankings: worldwide
The Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2024 ranking was released Dec. 9, 2024.
Past rankings: worldwide
Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2023
Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2022
Financial results
See more: McDonald’s financial results
Read McDonald’s annual filing
Management and employees
Chris Kempczinski became CEO in 2019 and chairman in 2024.
Kempczinski joined McDonald’s in 2015. He earlier worked at Kraft Foods, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble Co.
See more: McDonald’s management
See more: McDonald’s careers
Stock
McDonald’s trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Ticker: MCD
History
Dick and Mac McDonald opened the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940.
Ray Kroc, a distributor of milkshake mixing machines, visited the McDonald brothers in 1954. Kroc became their franchise agent and in 1955 opened a McDonald’s in suburban Chicago.
McDonald’s had its headquarters in downtown Chicago from 1955 to 1971 when it moved to Oak Brook, Illinois. McDonald’s moved its headquarters back to downtown Chicago in 2018.
See more: McDonald’s history
