Starbucks books more revenue than McDonald’s ($37.2B in fiscal 2025 vs $26.9B in 2025), but McDonald’s earns 4.2ร the operating income ($12.4B vs $2.9B). The difference is the model: Starbucks runs 52% of its 40,990 stores itself; McDonald’s runs 4% of its 45,356 restaurants and franchises the rest.
Sources: McDonald’s Form 10-K for 2025 and Starbucks Form 10-K for fiscal 2025. Analysis by The Business Engineer.
How we source: figures on this page come from the company’s own filings (SEC 10-K, 10-Q and earnings releases, or its annual report), with the period stated next to each number. Last refreshed October 2026. Our methodology.
McDonald’s vs Starbucks: the key numbers
| Metric | McDonald's 2025 | Starbucks FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $26.9B | $37.2B |
| Operating income | $12.4B | $2.9B |
| Operating margin* | 46.1% | 7.9% |
| Net income | $8.6B | $1.9B |
| Units | 45,356 | 40,990 |
| Company-operated | 2,039 | 21,514 |
| Employees | 150K+ | 381K |
Source: McDonald’s 2025 10-K; Starbucks 10-K FY2025 (to 28 Sep 2025). *Calculated.
What drives the difference
Operator vs landlord. 83% of Starbucks’ revenue comes from company-operated stores, so it carries store payroll and costs ($17.1B of store operating expenses). McDonald’s earns 62% of its revenue from franchisees as rent, royalties and fees.
Starbucks’ margin fell from 15.0% in fiscal 2024 to 7.9% in fiscal 2025 (10-K); McDonald’s rose to 46.1%.
What to watch
- Starbucks’ recovery: global comparable sales +7.9% in Q3 fiscal 2026 (release).
- McDonald’s traffic: comps +1.3% in Q2 2026 (Q2 2026 release).
- Licensing: Starbucks shifting more stores to licensed partners.
Keep exploring
- Starbucks vs McDonald’s structure
- McDonald’s vs Burger King
- McDonald’s business model
- McDonald’s competitors
Earlier analysis and background
Earlier analysis and background (pre-2026 figures)
The text below is the earlier version of this page. Its figures refer to earlier periods and some were corrected above; the current, sourced figures are in the sections above.
McDonald’s and Starbucks sit in the opposite spectrum of retail business models. Indeed, whereas McDonald’s follows a heavily franchised business model, Starbucks follows a heavy-chained one.
One card per Elements: McDonald’s, Starbucks, Similarities, Differences, Competitive Advantage.
Customer Segments
McDonald’s: Families, individuals, children
Starbucks: Coffee enthusiasts, individuals, professionals, students
Similarities: Both target individuals and families.
Differences: McDonald’s focuses on a wide range of fast-food customers, including families and children. Starbucks primarily targets coffee enthusiasts and individuals seeking premium coffee experiences.
Competitive Advantage: Wide customer base and reach (McDonald’s). Coffee-centric and premium customer base (Starbucks).
Value Proposition
McDonald’s: Fast food, convenience, affordability
Starbucks: Premium coffee, cozy environment, quality beverages
Similarities: Both provide value through convenience and quality.
Differences: McDonald’s emphasizes fast and affordable food offerings. Starbucks offers premium coffee and beverages, a comfortable atmosphere, and a focus on quality.
Competitive Advantage: Large scale and convenience (McDonald’s). Coffee expertise and ambiance (Starbucks).
Channels
McDonald’s: Restaurants, drive-thrus, delivery apps, mobile ordering
Starbucks: Coffee shops, drive-thrus, mobile app, Starbucks Rewards
Similarities: Both utilize physical locations and mobile apps.
Differences: McDonald’s relies on a network of fast-food restaurants and drive-thrus. Starbucks operates coffee shops with a focus on a welcoming environment. Starbucks also has a strong mobile app presence, including the Starbucks Rewards program.
Competitive Advantage: Extensive restaurant network (McDonald’s). Coffee shop ambiance and mobile app engagement (Starbucks).
Customer Relationships
McDonald’s: Quick service, consistency, advertising
Starbucks: Personalized experience, loyalty programs, advertising
Similarities: Both aim to build customer loyalty through consistency and advertising.
Differences: McDonald’s focuses on efficient and quick service, offering consistency in its menu. Starbucks focuses on personalized interactions, loyalty programs, and creating a sense of community among its customers.
Competitive Advantage: Fast and consistent service (McDonald’s). Personalized and community-building approach (Starbucks).
Key Activities
McDonald’s: Food preparation, supply chain management, franchising
Starbucks: Coffee roasting, store management, menu innovation
Similarities: Both involve food and beverage preparation, supply chain management, and franchising.
Differences: McDonald’s core activities revolve around food preparation, supply chain logistics, and franchising its brand. Starbucks’ key activities include coffee roasting, store management, and continuous menu innovation to cater to evolving customer preferences.
Competitive Advantage: Highly efficient supply chain (McDonald’s). Coffee expertise and menu innovation (Starbucks).
Key Resources
McDonald’s: Real estate, franchised locations, food suppliers
Starbucks: Coffee beans, store locations, baristas
Similarities: Both rely on real estate, locations, and suppliers.
Differences: McDonald’s key resources include a vast real estate portfolio, franchised locations, and a network of food suppliers. Starbucks depends on its coffee bean sources, strategically located stores, and skilled baristas to deliver a premium coffee experience.
Competitive Advantage: Extensive real estate and franchising network (McDonald’s). Coffee sourcing and skilled baristas (Starbucks).
Key Partnerships
McDonald’s: Franchisees, food suppliers, equipment providers
Starbucks: Coffee bean suppliers, store landlords, technology partners
Similarities: Both collaborate with franchisees and suppliers.
Differences: McDonald’s partners with franchisees and food suppliers to maintain consistency. Starbucks collaborates with coffee bean suppliers, store landlords, and technology companies to enhance its customer experience.
Competitive Advantage: Strong partnerships for consistent quality (McDonald’s). Coffee supply chain and technology enhancements (Starbucks).
Revenue Streams
McDonald’s: Food sales, franchising fees, royalties
Starbucks: Beverage and food sales, merchandise, licensing
Similarities: Both generate revenue from food and beverage sales.
Differences: McDonald’s revenue primarily comes from food sales, franchising fees, and royalties from franchisees. Starbucks generates revenue from coffee and food sales, merchandise sales, and licensing its brand for products such as coffee beans and ready-to-drink beverages.
Competitive Advantage: Diverse revenue streams within food and beverage categories (both).
Cost Structure
McDonald’s: Food and labor costs, marketing, franchise support
Starbucks: Coffee bean procurement, labor, store operations
Similarities: Both incur costs related to food, labor, and marketing.
Differences: McDonald’s cost structure includes expenses related to food and labor, marketing, and providing support to franchisees. Starbucks incurs costs related to procuring coffee beans, labor, and store operations, with a focus on creating a unique in-store experience for customers.
Competitive Advantage: Operational efficiency and support for franchisees (McDonald’s). Coffee bean sourcing and in-store experience (Starbucks).
McDonald’s and Starbucks are examples of the kind of business models that can space between chained and franchised.
Indeed, McDonald’s has found a sweet spot in its franchising operations, reaching 95% of the total operations.
Of over $23 billion in revenue in 2022, $8.74 came from company-operated stores, while $14.1 billion came from franchised restaurants. Of over $23 billion in revenue in 2021, McDonald’s generated almost ten billion dollars from company-operated restaurants, while it generated $13 billion from franchised restaurants.
On the other hand, Starbucks, while still transitioning most of its stores as company-operated, in reality, that’s where most of the revenue is generated.
Starbucks follows a chain business model strategy, where most of its revenue comes from its owned stores. For instance, in 2022, with over $32.2 billion in revenue, most of the revenue came from owned stores ($26.57 billion) compared to franchised stores ($3.65 billion) and other revenue sources ($2 billion). Yet owned stores have higher operational costs compared to franchised stores.
Key Highlights
- Business Model Spectrum: McDonald’s and Starbucks represent opposite ends of the retail business model spectrum. McDonald’s primarily follows a heavily franchised model, while Starbucks employs a more heavily chained approach.
- Chained vs. Franchised: The distinction lies in how they operate their stores. McDonald’s heavily relies on franchisees who independently operate most of their locations, while Starbucks retains more control over its stores, owning and operating a larger portion of them directly.
- McDonald’s Franchising: McDonald’s has achieved success in its franchising strategy, with approximately 95% of its total operations being run by franchisees. This has contributed significantly to its business and revenue.
- Revenue Breakdown (McDonald’s):
- In 2022, McDonald’s generated over $23 billion in revenue.
- Of this, around $8.74 billion came from company-operated stores.
- Approximately $14.1 billion came from franchised restaurants.
- In 2021, the revenue was over $23 billion, with almost $10 billion from company-operated stores and $13 billion from franchised restaurants.
- Starbucks Chain Model:
- Starbucks employs a chain business model strategy, focusing on company-owned stores.
- In 2022, Starbucks reported revenue of over $32.2 billion.
- The majority of the revenue, around $26.57 billion, came from owned stores.
- Franchised stores contributed $3.65 billion, and other revenue sources accounted for $2 billion.
- Operational Costs: While Starbucks’ strategy of owning its stores generates more revenue, it also entails higher operational costs compared to the franchise model adopted by McDonald’s.
How AI Is Changing This
McDonald’s and Starbucks are leveraging AI differently to enhance customer experience, with McDonald’s focusing on operational efficiency while Starbucks prioritizes personalization. McDonald’s has implemented AI-powered voice recognition technology at drive-thru locations, using automated order-taking systems that can understand natural speech patterns and suggest menu items based on weather, time of day, and previous orders. This reduces wait times and labor costs while maintaining accuracy. In contrast, Starbucks has developed its Deep Brew AI platform, which powers personalized recommendations through the mobile app by analyzing individual purchase history, preferences, and even seasonal trends to suggest customized drinks and food items. While McDonald’s AI streamlines the ordering process for speed and efficiency, Starbucks uses AI to create a more intimate, tailored experience that encourages customer loyalty and increases average order value through sophisticated predictive analytics.
For deeper analysis: The Business Engineer โ AI Strategy Intelligence
Related Visual Stories
Of over $25 billion in revenues for 2023, $9.74 billion came from company-operated stores, while $15.43 billion came from franchised restaurants compared to $23 billion in revenue in 2022, of which $8.74 came from company-operated stores, while $14.1 billion came from franchised restaurants. And over $23 billion in revenue in 2021, McDonald’s generated almost ten billion dollars from company-operated restaurants, while it generated $13 billion from franchised restaurants.
McDonald’s EV/Revenue Multiple
In 2023, McDonald’s EV/Revenue Multiples was 8.43 in 2023, compared to 8.33 in 2022, and 8.53 in 2021.
In 2023, McDonald’s generated $8.47 billion in net profits compared to $6.18 billion in net profits for 2022, and $7.54 billion in 2021. The company runs a heavily franchised business model, where it has reached its target of nearly 95% franchised restaurants worldwide.
McDonald’s had 150,000 employees in 2023, compared to 150,000 employees in 2022, 200,000 employees in 2021, and the same in 2020. The company runs a heavily franchised business model, where most stores are franchised restaurants vs. owned ones. In 2022, McDonald’s franchised locations employed over two million individuals.
McDonald’s runs a heavy franchise business model, where it has been substantially increasing its franchised restaurants while reducing its company-operated ones. For instance, by 2023, McDonald’s had 39,680 franchised restaurants vs. 2,142 owned and operated ones.
McDonald’s Operates vs. Franchised Restaurants Margins
McDonald’s runs a heavily franchised business model, where most of its margins come from franchised restaurants vs. operated ones. For instance, in 2023, $1.52 billion came from owned restaurants whereas $12.96 came from franchised restaurants.
Burger King is an American multinational chain of fast-food restaurants that is headquartered in Miami, Florida. The first Burger King restaurant, then known as Insta-Burger King, was opened in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1953 by Keith Cramer and his stepfather Matthew Burns. Burger King Worldwide merged with the Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons in 2014. This precipitated the formation of parent company Restaurant Brands International, which is part-owned by former Burger King owner 3G Capital.
McDonald’s Organizational Structure
Coca-Cola follows a business strategy (implemented since 2006) where through its operating arm – the Bottling Investment Group – it invests initially in bottling partners operations. As they take off, Coca-Cola divests its equity stakes, and it establishes a franchising model, as long-term growth and distribution strategy.
Coca-Cola’s Purpose is to “refresh the world. make a difference.” Its vision and mission are to “craft the brands and choice of drinks that people love, to refresh them in body & spirit. And done in ways that create a more sustainable business and better-shared future that makes a difference in peopleโs lives, communities, and our planet.”
Starbucks follows a chain business model strategy, where most of its revenue comes from its owned stores. For instance, in 2023, with nearly $36 billion in revenue, most of the revenue came from owned stores ($29.46 billion) compared to franchised stores ($4.51 billion) and other revenue sources ($2 billion). Yet owned stores have higher operational costs compared to franchised stores.
Starbucks generated $4.12 billion in 2023, compared to $3.28 billion in net earnings in 2022, $4.2 billion in 2021, and $928 million in 2020.
Starbucks had 381,000 employees in 2023, compared to 402,000 employees in 2022, 383,000 in 2021, and 228,000 in 2020.
Starbucks Revenue Per Employee
Starbucks generated over $94K per employee in 2023, compared to $80K revenue per employee in 2022, $75K in 2021, and over $103K in revenue in 2020.
Starbucks generated over $945K per store in 2023, compared to $900K per store in 2022, $858K in 2021, and $720K in 2020.
Starbucks made 60% of its revenue, in 2023, from beverages, followed by other revenue, which accounted for 22% of the total revenue (that comprises packaged and single-serve coffees and teas, plus royalty and licensing revenues, beverage-related ingredients, serve ware, and ready-to-drink beverages, among other items.) and food, which accounted for 18% of the total sales in 2023.
Starbucks Organizational Structure
