---
title: "McDonald's: Business Model"
description: "McDonald's revenue by business segment from its fiscal 2025 Form 10-K, with each part's share, growth and profitability explained."
canonical: https://www.getswoopr.com/stocks/companies/mcdonalds/business-model/
source: "Swoopr Investment: https://www.getswoopr.com"
---

# McDonald's: Business Model & Revenue Engine

## Direct Answer

McDonald's reports revenue across 3 business segments in its fiscal 2025 Form 10-K. International Operated Markets is the largest, with $13.6 billion of revenue (51% of the total), followed by US Market at $10.8 billion (40%).

## How Does McDonald's Make Money?

No single line supplies a majority of revenue: the largest, International Operated Markets, is 51%, which spreads McDonald's's exposure across several demand drivers. Between fiscal 2024 and 2025, International Operated Markets grew fastest (+8.0%) and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate slowest (-8.8%), so the revenue mix tilts toward International Operated Markets while that gap lasts.

| Segment | FY2025 revenue | FY2024 revenue | Share of revenue | Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| International Operated Markets | $13.6 billion | $12.6 billion | 50.7% | 8.0% |
| US Market | $10.8 billion | $10.6 billion | 40.3% | 1.8% |
| International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate | $2.4 billion | $2.7 billion | 9.0% | -8.8% |

![Bar chart of McDonald's revenue by segment for fiscal 2025: International Operated Markets 50.7%, US Market 40.3%, International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate 9.0%.](https://www.getswoopr.com/images/charts/mcdonalds-business-model-segment-mix.webp)
*McDonald's revenue by segment as a share of total revenue, from the table above. The largest is highlighted. Select the chart to open it full size.*

## Which McDonald's Segments Earn the Most?

| Segment | FY2025 segment operating income | Segment margin |
| --- | --- | --- |
| International Operated Markets | $6.4 billion | 46.8% |
| US Market | $5.8 billion | 53.7% |
| International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate | $203 million | 8.4% |

Segment operating income is the profit measure McDonald's reports to its chief operating decision maker for each segment. It usually leaves out corporate costs that are not allocated to a segment, so the segments usually add up to more than consolidated operating income, and margins are comparable within McDonald's more safely than against another company.

## What the Segment Figures Do Not Show

The rows above add up to 100% of McDonald's's reported revenue for fiscal 2025; the difference is intersegment eliminations, corporate revenue or items the company reports outside its segments. Segment definitions are management's choice and change when a company reorganizes, in which case it restates prior years in the next filing, so a multi-year comparison should use the figures from a single filing. Revenue shows where sales come from, not where profit or cash is earned: a small segment can carry most of the margin.

## Where These Numbers Come From

Every figure on this page is a value McDonald's reported in the segment note and revenue disclosures of its Form 10-K filed February 24, 2026 (accession 0000063908-26-000035), read from the SEC's Financial Statement Data Sets. The prior-year column is the comparative figure from that same filing, so it reflects any restatement for a change in segments. Category names are the company's own XBRL labels, lightly reformatted for reading.

Rows that only total other rows (for example a "Products" line beside the individual products) are left out so nothing is counted twice. This page is educational and describes reported history for fiscal 2025; it is not a forecast or a recommendation.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What are McDonald's's business segments?

In its fiscal 2025 Form 10-K, McDonald's reports revenue for International Operated Markets, US Market and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate.

### Which part of McDonald's brings in the most revenue?

International Operated Markets, with $13.6 billion of revenue in fiscal 2025, or 51% of the total.

### Where does McDonald's report its segment results?

In the segment note to the financial statements in its Form 10-K, most recently filed February 24, 2026, alongside management's discussion of each segment's results.

## References

- [SEC EDGAR: MCDONALDS CORP Form 10-K filed February 24, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/63908/000006390826000035/mcd-20251231.htm)
- [SEC EDGAR: MCDONALDS CORP annual and quarterly filings](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=63908&type=10-K)
- [SEC: EDGAR application programming interfaces (XBRL frames and submissions data)](https://www.sec.gov/search-filings/edgar-application-programming-interfaces)
- [SEC: Financial Statement Data Sets](https://www.sec.gov/data-research/sec-markets-data/financial-statement-data-sets)

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**[Swoopr Editorial Team](https://www.getswoopr.com/authors/swoopr-editorial-team/)**

Swoopr's editorial team produces independent investment education content reviewed for accuracy and clarity. We do not provide personalized financial advice. See our [editorial policy](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/editorial-policy/) and [corrections policy](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/corrections-policy/).