McDonald's management check
MCD · Consumer Discretionary · Restaurants · CEO Mr. Kempczinski
Filings as of
3 good · 2 to watch · 1 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $160, against $173 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Flag
Does pay follow performance?
Pay moved against returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of -0.62 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.2% of net income$20.6m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $8.6bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $2.4m sold in six months. 3 of 3 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.1% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
10 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Mr. Kempczinski. 10 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Consumer Discretionary.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 41 | 70 | |
| Pay for performance | 19 | 79 | |
| CEO cost | 100 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 36 |
| Dilution | 64 | 74 | |
| Stable leadership | 75 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Restaurants, by management score. McDonald's is 28th of 47 in its sector.
- 223MCDMcDonald's66
- 303DRIDarden Restaurants61
- 324DPZDomino's60
- 356CMGChipotle Mexican Grill58
- 438YUMYum! Brands48
- 448SBUXStarbucks47
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 7, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Kempczinski | $20.6m | $17.9m | $6.3m | $160 | $173 | $8.6bn |
| 2024 | — | $18.2m | $12.7m | $5.3m | $148 | $150 | $8.2bn |
| 2023 | — | $19.2m | $36.9m | $7.3m | $148 | $131 | $8.5bn |
| 2022 | — | $17.8m | $29.6m | $6.1m | $128 | $113 | $6.2bn |
| 2021 | — | $20.0m | $40.2m | $8.0m | $128 | $121 | $7.5bn |
The board says pay is tied most to annual EPS growth. Its other key measures: EPS Growth, Systemwide Sales Growth, Operating Income Growth, Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR), Share Price Increase.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $2.4m sold in six months. 3 of 3 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldJoseph M. ErlingerPresident, McDonald's USA · 10b5-1 plan$1.6mJun 10, 2026
- SoldDesiree Ralls-MorrisonEVP, Chief Legal Officer · 10b5-1 plan$769kMay 28, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Aug 4, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 2, 2026Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Feb 10, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 11, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 14, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 17, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 26, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 19, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 13, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 16, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 24, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 29, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 22, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $35.3bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 91% of net income, and $818.2m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $23.2bn | $23.2bn | $25.5bn | $25.9bn | $26.9bn |
| Net income | $7.5bn | $6.2bn | $8.5bn | $8.2bn | $8.6bn |
| Stock-based pay | $139.2m | $167.0m | $175.0m | $172.0m | $165.0m |
| Buybacks | $845.5m | $3.9bn | $3.1bn | $2.8bn | $2.1bn |
| Dividends | $3.9bn | $4.2bn | $4.5bn | $4.9bn | $5.1bn |
| Diluted shares | 0m | 0m | 0m | 0m | 0m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.