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McDonald's

A franchise and real-estate business that happens to sell burgers.

~95% of McDonald's 43,000+ restaurants are franchised: franchisees carry the operating risk while McDonald's collects rent, royalties, and fees. One of the most-studied business models ever — margin lives in the structure, not the product. Example profile — reconstructed from public sources to show founders what a completed StartupKit showcase page looks like. McDonald's is not a StartupKit customer.

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🧩 Business Model Canvas

Key Partners

  • Franchisees — the operators who run ~95% of restaurants
  • A supply chain so integrated it functions as one organism
  • Real estate: landlords, developers, municipalities
  • Delivery platforms (post-2017 pragmatism)
  • Global marketing and toy/IP partners

Key Activities

  • Acquiring and controlling real estate under the restaurants
  • Franchising: selecting, training, policing operators
  • The operating system: Hamburger University, procedures for everything
  • Global brand marketing
  • Menu engineering and now digital/loyalty

Key Resources

  • The real estate portfolio — tens of billions in prime corners
  • The brand: arguably the most recognized commercial symbol alive
  • The operating system and Hamburger University
  • The franchisee network's local capital and knowledge

Value Proposition

  • Customers: identical, fast, cheap — anywhere on the planet
  • Franchisees: a proven money machine with financing-friendly economics
  • Franchisees: the land and the system come with the deal
  • Communities: first jobs and a known quantity

Customer Relationships

  • Ubiquity and habit — the golden arches as default
  • The app and loyalty program (150M+ members) — the digital pivot
  • Franchisee relations: field consultants, councils, disputes
  • Marketing rituals: Happy Meals to celebrity meals

Channels

  • 43,000+ locations — distribution as physical saturation
  • Drive-through: the majority of US volume
  • The app: ordering, deals, loyalty
  • Delivery platforms and dark-kitchen experiments

Customer Segments

  • Families and kids — the Happy Meal generation engine
  • Value-driven eaters: speed and price over cuisine
  • Late-night, commuter, and drive-through occasions
  • Franchise investors — the segment that pays the rent

Cost Structure

  • Company-operated restaurant costs (the ~5% it runs itself)
  • Real estate: depreciation, leases it re-lets at a spread
  • G&A, technology, and marketing funds
  • Notably: franchisees carry most operating costs

Revenue Streams

  • Rent from franchisees — often the largest single stream
  • Royalties (~4-5% of franchisee sales)
  • Initial franchise fees
  • Sales from company-operated restaurants

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