Episode 013:45
The Landlord That Sells Burgers? What McDonald’s Filing Actually Says
Is McDonald’s really a real estate company that happens to sell burgers? We test the famous line against McDonald’s own 2025 annual report (Form 10-K): franchised restaurants, rent vs. royalties, who owns the land and buildings, and where the margin actually lives.
Sources
- McDonald’s Corporation, Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed Feb 24, 2026)Primary source for every figure in the episode. Company-wide, fiscal 2025, USD.
How we use the numbers
Figures are company-wide fiscal-2025 USD amounts, rounded. “About 13 cents per dollar” is our calculation (franchise revenue ÷ franchised sales), a blended average and not any restaurant’s contract rate.
A note on this episode
Not affiliated with or endorsed by McDonald’s. Animations are original and illustrative. Narration uses a synthetic voice (Kokoro-82M). Not financial advice.