McDonald's (MCD) risk factors, 2025 10-K

McDonald's's 2025 10-K lists 28 risk factors. No earlier 10-K is on file to compare against, so the most company-specific risks are read out below.

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Risk factors listed
280 groups
Section length
6k wordsItem 1A

What dominates the section

  • Franchisee financial health and cooperation are central because McDonald’s earns most restaurant margins from franchised locations.
  • Food safety, labor availability and cost, supply disruptions, and commodity inflation directly threaten restaurant operations and profitability.
  • Technology dependence, privacy obligations, regulation, and global geopolitical conditions create growing operational and compliance exposure.

The risks most specific to McDonald's

  • Our franchise business model presents a number of risks

    McDonald’s depends heavily on franchisees’ financial success and cooperation because franchised restaurant fees provide most restaurant margins.

  • Food safety concerns may have an adverse effect on our business

    Food-borne illnesses or other food and product safety problems in the supply chain or restaurants could reduce sales and damage the brand.

  • Supply chain interruptions may increase costs or reduce revenues

    Limited suppliers for certain food, equipment, or materials could interrupt restaurant operations, raise costs, or reduce revenue.

  • Continued challenges with respect to labor, including availability and cost, could adversely impact our business and results of operations

    A competitive labor market may make it harder and more expensive to recruit, retain, and adequately staff McDonald’s restaurants.

  • Information technology system failures or interruptions, or breaches of network security, may impact our operations or cause reputational harm

    Failures, interruptions, or security breaches affecting point-of-sale, digital, delivery, and other technology systems could disrupt operations and harm McDonald’s reputation.

  • If we fail to comply with privacy and data protection laws, we could be subject to legal proceedings and penalties, which could negatively affect our financial results or brand perceptions

    Noncompliance with privacy and data protection requirements governing McDonald’s technology platforms could result in penalties, litigation, and reputational damage.

  • Increasing regulatory and legal complexity may adversely affect our business and financial results

    Increasing and conflicting regulations covering restaurant operations, packaging, marketing, technology, and other areas could raise costs and constrain the business.

  • Changes in commodity and other operating costs could adversely affect our results of operations

    Higher food, paper, fuel, utilities, distribution, labor, and other operating costs could reduce the profitability of Company-owned restaurants.

  • The global scope of our business subjects us to risks that could negatively affect our business

    Operating restaurants in more than 100 countries exposes McDonald’s to differing cultural, regulatory, geopolitical, and economic conditions.

All 28 risk factors

Headings as the filing states them, in filing order.

Other

  1. 01Our business results are subject to a variety of risks, including those that are described below and elsewhere in our filings with the
  2. 02If we do not successfully evolve and execute against our business strategies, we may not be able to drive business growth
  3. 03Failure to preserve the value or relevance of our brand could have an adverse impact on our financial results
  4. 04If we do not anticipate and address industry trends and evolving consumer preferences and effectively execute our pricing, promotional and marketing plans, our business could suffer
  5. 05able to do so more effectively, our financial results could be adversely impacted
  6. 06Our investments to transform and enhance the customer experience, including through technology, may not generate the expected results
  7. 07We face intense competition in our markets, which could hurt our business
  8. 08We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property or adequately ensure that we are not infringing the intellectual property of others, which could harm the value of the McDonald’s brand and our business
  9. 09The global scope of our business subjects us to risks that could negatively affect our business
  10. 10Supply chain interruptions may increase costs or reduce revenues
  11. 11Our franchise business model presents a number of risks
  12. 12Continued challenges with respect to labor, including availability and cost, could adversely impact our business and results of operations
  13. 13Effective succession planning is important to our continued success
  14. 14Food safety concerns may have an adverse effect on our business
  15. 15If we do not effectively manage our real estate portfolio, our operating results may be negatively impacted
  16. 16Information technology system failures or interruptions, or breaches of network security, may impact our operations or cause reputational harm
  17. 17Increasing regulatory and legal complexity may adversely affect our business and financial results
  18. 18ability to manage the impact of regulations and other initiatives that can affect our business plans and operations, which have increased and may continue to increase our costs of doing business and exposure to litigation, governmental investigations or other proceedings
  19. 19Changes in tax laws and unanticipated tax liabilities could adversely affect the taxes we pay and our profitability
  20. 20Changes in accounting standards or the recognition of impairment or other charges may adversely affect our future operations and results
  21. 21If we fail to comply with privacy and data protection laws, we could be subject to legal proceedings and penalties, which could negatively affect our financial results or brand perceptions
  22. 22Unfavorable general economic conditions could adversely affect our business and financial results
  23. 23Health epidemics or pandemics could adversely affect our business and financial results
  24. 24Changes in commodity and other operating costs could adversely affect our results of operations
  25. 25A decrease in our credit ratings or an increase in our funding costs could adversely affect our profitability
  26. 26The trading volatility and price of our common stock may be adversely affected by many factors
  27. 27Our business is subject to an increasing focus on environmental and social impact matters
  28. 28Events such as severe weather conditions, natural disasters, hostilities, social and geopolitical unrest and climate change, among others, can adversely affect our results and prospects

Other McDonald's 10-Ks

  • 2026 10-K risk factors

    26 risks, 2 dropped, 7 reworded since the prior year. Cybersecurity incidents and breaches are now expressly highlighted, while artificial intelligence tool risks no longer appear.

    Filed Feb 24, 2026

About this page

Item 1A of the 10-K on EDGAR was split into its risk factors and, where the company's previous 10-K is on file, each heading was matched to last year's and the text compared word for word. The headings are the filing's own. The one-line readings and the overview were written by a language model from the text of the new, dropped, and rewritten risks; they refer to risks by position and cannot misquote a heading.

McDonald's (MCD) Risk Factors: 2025 10-K, What Changed | Gloomberb