{"id":1552004,"date":"2026-02-20T14:58:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/articles\/mcdonalds-franchise-history\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T16:07:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:07:28","slug":"mcdonalds-franchise-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/articles\/mcdonalds-franchise-history\/","title":{"rendered":"How McDonald\u2019s Built a Global Empire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Before there was the Big Mac or the Happy Meal, there were two brothers with a dream. When Dick and Mac McDonald left their home in New England to enter the California restaurant industry, they had no way of knowing the phenomenon they were on the verge of creating. Now, with over 44,000 restaurants worldwide, McDonald\u2019s holds strong as the world\u2019s leading fast food chain \u2014 built on a firm foundation of hard work, innovation, and a belief in the potential for greatness.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The Early Days of McDonald\u2019s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The McDonald brothers <\/strong>opened their first drive-through restaurant<\/strong> in San Bernardino, California<\/strong> in 1940. After eight years of success<\/strong>, the brothers saw an opportunity<\/strong> to stand out among other restaurants in the area, launching what they called the Speedee Service System: a brand-new self-service system<\/strong> unlike anything seen before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the addition of a self-service counter<\/strong>, restaurants were able to cut costs<\/strong> by removing the need for waiters and waitresses. Additionally, the menu was simplified<\/strong>, and food was able to be distributed quickly because the hamburgers were cooked in advance<\/strong>, wrapped, and kept warm underneath heat lamps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result? Food sold for half the price<\/strong> of competing restaurants, twice as quickly<\/strong>. The groundwork of fast food was being laid, and the results were undeniable<\/strong>. The McDonald brothers sold 14 franchises<\/a><\/strong>, 10 of which became operating<\/strong> restaurants<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Development and Expansion: The Impact of Ray Kroc<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While the McDonald<\/strong> brothers may have opened the first McDonald\u2019s restaurants<\/strong>, it was Ray Kroc<\/strong> who accelerated the company<\/strong> to the fast food giant<\/strong> it would later become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A milkshake distributor, Kroc recognized the franchise\u2019s potential <\/strong>and became a franchise agent. He opened his first franchise<\/strong> in 1955, and launched McDonald\u2019s Systems, Inc. \u2014 which would later become McDonald\u2019s Corporation<\/strong> \u2014 the same year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1961, Kroc bought out<\/strong> the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million <\/strong>and began to standardize the company\u2019s processes<\/strong>. He created strict systems<\/strong> for everything from food preparation to cleaning, and implemented counter staff to replace the prior self-serve model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was during this time that Kroc also began to establish the McDonald\u2019s brand<\/strong> that\u2019s known around the world<\/strong> today. The restaurant<\/a> debuted the famous golden arches<\/strong> and introduced their beloved mascot, Ronald McDonald.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Worldwide Growth of McDonald\u2019s Franchises<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1965, McDonald\u2019s went public on the New York Stock Exchange<\/strong>, marking their entry as a household name <\/strong>once and for all. In the years that followed, Kroc took over as the business\u2019s CEO,<\/strong> and McDonald\u2019s began its international expansion<\/strong>, with its first franchise outside of the United States launching in British Columbia<\/strong> in 1965. From there, global franchises <\/strong>took off like wildfire, and locations began to open all across the world. Franchises<\/strong> opened their doors in Costa Rica<\/strong>, the Netherlands, Japan<\/strong>, Germany, and Australia<\/strong> within the next four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he first began developing a vision<\/strong> for McDonald\u2019s, Kroc wanted to open 1,000 franchises<\/strong> across the US. However, by 1976, there were 3,600 McDonald\u2019s franchises<\/strong> in North America alone, with global locations <\/strong>continuing to pop up each year. In the years since, the restaurant\u2019s growth<\/strong> has seemed unstoppable<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n

1996<\/div>

McDonald\u2019s opens its 20,000th restaurant, <\/h3><\/div>

doubling its number of locations since 1988.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

2000<\/div>

McDonald\u2019s hits a milestone of over 11,000 franchise locations<\/h3><\/div>

outside of the United States.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

2012<\/div>

McDonald\u2019s announces an all-time revenue high <\/h3><\/div>

of $27 billion.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

2022<\/div>

The company\u2019s shares reach an all-time high,<\/h3><\/div>

hitting a market capitalization of $218 billion.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

2026<\/div>

McDonald\u2019s IS the world\u2019s leading global foodservice retailer <\/h3><\/div>

with over 44,000 locations in more than 100 different countries.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

The Modern McDonald\u2019s Empire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

McDonald\u2019s has continued to grow<\/strong> at a steady pace with each passing year, and that trend<\/strong> isn\u2019t anticipated to change anytime soon. In 2023, the company announced that they planned to open an additional 10,000 locations globally<\/strong> by 2027, which would mark the fastest<\/strong> period<\/strong> of growth<\/strong> in McDonald\u2019s history<\/strong>. If they succeed<\/strong>, it would mean 50,000 McDonald\u2019s locations worldwide.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company\u2019s growth strategy<\/strong>, Accelerating the Arches<\/a>, blends the enduring strengths<\/strong> of McDonald\u2019s with innovation<\/strong> and evolution<\/strong>. Their mission statement<\/a> is simple: \u201cMaking delicious feel-good moments easy for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 86 years of success <\/strong>pushing them forward, there is little doubt that McDonald\u2019s momentum<\/strong> will lead anywhere but up<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before there was the Big Mac or the Happy Meal, there were two brothers with a dream. When Dick and Mac McDonald left their home in New England to enter the California restaurant industry, they had no way of knowing the phenomenon they were on the verge of creating. Now, with over 44,000 restaurants worldwide, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":762,"featured_media":1552009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"How McDonald\u2019s Built a Global Empire: Franchise History","_seopress_titles_desc":"Discover how McDonald\u2019s became the world\u2019s leading fast food chain through franchising, with over 44,000 restaurants worldwide.","_seopress_robots_index":"","content-type":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"1546899,1544049,1539635,1549821,1543960,1551078","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3473,3607],"tags":[],"type-de-post":[438],"class_list":{"0":"post-1552004","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneur-stories","8":"category-entrepreneurship","9":"type-de-post-articles"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/762"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1552004"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1566241,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552004\/revisions\/1566241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1552009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1552004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1552004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1552004"},{"taxonomy":"type-de-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-de-post?post=1552004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}