McDonald’s ran 1,924 Company-owned and operated restaurants at 30 September, 129 fewer than a year earlier, while its system grew by 1,955 restaurants to 46,554, according to the supplemental information it filed on 4 November. In the U.S., Company-run restaurants fell by 90, or 13.5%, by our arithmetic.
Revenues from franchised restaurants rose 3% to $4.49 billion, while sales by Company-owned and operated restaurants fell 3% to $2.48 billion. Franchised revenues were 62.7% of total revenues, against 61.6% a year earlier, by our arithmetic.
Business Pill · Distribution Advantage
An evergreen Business Engineer explainer on distribution advantage. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss McDonald’s.
The key insight: McDonald’s ran 1,924 Company-owned and operated restaurants at 30 September, 129 fewer than a year earlier, or 4.1% of a 46,554-restaurant system against 4.6%, while franchised revenues rose to 62.7% of total revenues, by our arithmetic.
Consolidated revenues rose 1% to $7.16 billion and “Global Systemwide sales increased 4% to over $38 billion for the quarter”. Global comparable sales rose 1.5%: the U.S. fell 0.2%, International Operated Markets rose 1.4% and International Developmental Licensed Markets rose 4.2%.
In the U.S., “Comparable sales declined slightly as negative comparable guest counts were largely offset by positive check growth”. Chief executive Chris Kempczinski said: “In the U.S., we’re encouraged by improvement as the quarter progressed following our intervention on value”.
Diluted EPS was $3.51, and $3.57 excluding $0.06 of charges. Operating income rose 7%. Excluding the charges, the release says results were “primarily driven by higher Other operating income and higher sales-driven Franchised margins”. The company raised its quarterly dividend 4% to $1.93.
McDonald’s Company-owned and operated restaurants at 30 September 2025 and 2026, for the U.S., International Operated Markets, International Developmental Licensed Markets and in total (2,053 to 1,924). Source: McDonald’s Form 8-K Exhibit 99.2, Supplemental Information. Changes are our arithmetic.
Comments: ๐ธ โMcDonaldโs delivered another quarter of global growth, with solid performance across much of our international business. In the U.S., we’re encouraged by improvement as the quarter progressed following our intervention on valueโ
๐ธ โWeโre focused on building from here, strengthening the business today and investing in the next chapter of growth.โ
Wall St Engine’s results card, posted at 12:02Z, lists McDonald’s third-quarter figures and comparable sales against consensus estimates. We use it only for the estimates; every McDonald’s figure comes from the release and supplemental information.
Fewer Company-Run Restaurants
Company-owned and operated restaurants were 4.1% of the system, down from 4.6%, by our arithmetic. Outside the U.S., International Operated Markets ran 1,110, down 42, while foreign affiliated restaurants grew by 941 to 11,748.
The filings do not say whether the 129 restaurants were sold to franchisees or closed. For background, see our page on McDonald’s owned restaurants.
The AI Line
In the risk discussion of its supplemental information, McDonald’s lists among its strategies to “run great restaurants by deploying artificial intelligence (“AI”)-enabled technology, including ArchIQ, to make it easier for crews to work more efficiently and deliver exceptional customer service”.
Another strategy is “building Company data, analytics and AI capabilities that unlock greater speed, innovation and efficiency and support ongoing efforts to reduce costs”. The filing gives no AI spending figure.
The Restructuring Charge
The quarter carried “Net pre-tax charges of $56 million, or $0.06 per share, for the quarter and $155 million, or $0.17 per share, for the nine months”, mainly for Accelerating the Organization, which McDonald’s says is “designed to modernize ways of working across the Company to become faster, more innovative and more efficient for its customers and people”.
The company says it “will continue to incur various restructuring charges through its anticipated completion during 2027”.
Loyalty Sales
McDonald’s says “Systemwide sales to loyalty members across 70 loyalty markets were $41 billion for the trailing twelve-month period and more than $11 billion for the quarter”. The quarterly figure is given as a floor, so we do not compute a loyalty share for the quarter.
Against the Consensus
Against the consensus estimates cited by Wall St Engine, revenue of $7.16 billion compared with $7.28 billion expected and adjusted EPS of $3.57 with $3.38. U.S. comparable sales of minus 0.2% compared with minus 0.5% expected, and International Operated Markets of 1.4% with 2.0%.
The Reaction on X
Wall St Engine posted its results card at 12:02Z, a minute after the 8-K reached EDGAR at 12:01Z, marking revenue below the estimate and adjusted EPS above it.
What the Risk Factors Say
When we checked EDGAR at 17:02Z on 4 November, McDonald’s had not filed its 10-Q for the quarter, so this piece has no risk-factor comparison.
As we read the restaurant table, McDonald’s grew the system by 1,955 restaurants while running fewer itself, and its revenue mix moved further toward franchise fees.
As we read the supplemental information, AI appears as a crew tool, ArchIQ, and as a cost-reduction capability, with no spending or results figure attached.
McDonald’s, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.2, Q3 2026
“run great restaurants by deploying artificial intelligence (“AI”)-enabled technology, including ArchIQ, to make it easier for crews to work more efficiently and deliver exceptional customer service”
Three Implications
FOR THE REVENUE MIX Franchised revenues rose 3% to $4.49 billion while Company-operated sales fell 3% to $2.48 billion.
FOR THE U.S. U.S. Company-run restaurants fell by 90 to 577, down 13.5%, by our arithmetic, and U.S. comparable sales fell 0.2%.
FOR COSTS Restructuring charges for Accelerating the Organization were $56 million in the quarter and $155 million in nine months, and the company says they continue into 2027.
The framework puts it this way: “Customer service gives way to autonomous agents.”
As we read it, McDonald’s filing describes a more limited step: AI-enabled technology to help crews work, not to replace them. The framework does not discuss McDonald’s.
The filings do not explain the fall in Company-run restaurants, do not give AI costs or results, and do not say how many restaurants use ArchIQ. We did not use the earnings call and did not contact McDonald’s.
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McDonald’s ran 129 fewer of its own restaurants than a year earlier, 4.1% of a system of 46,554, by our arithmetic, as franchised revenues rose 3% and Company-operated sales fell 3%. Its filing lists AI-enabled crew technology, including ArchIQ, among its strategies.
A note on sourcing. Every McDonald’s figure comes from its third-quarter 2026 results release and supplemental information, filed as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 to a Form 8-K on SEC EDGAR on 4 November 2026. Estimates are the consensus figures cited by Wall St Engine. Changes and shares are our arithmetic.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
