McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the world's largest chain of fast-food restaurants.

Fast Food Restaurant

The company began in 1940 with a restaurant opened by siblings Dick and Mac McDonald, but it was their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 that established the principles of the fast-food restaurant. However, the company today dates its "founding" to the opening of CEO Ray Kroc's first franchised restaurant, the company's ninth, in 1955.

A Wordwide Brand

McDonald's brand is in 119 countries and territories around the world. 30,000 locations serve nearly 50 million customers each day. More than 70% of McDonald's restaurants around the world are owned and operated by independent local businesspersons.

Diversified Company

In addition, the company operates other restaurant brands, such as Aroma Café, Boston Market, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and has a minority stake in Pret a Manger. Until December 2003 it also owned Donatos Pizza. It also has a subsidiary, Redbox, which in 2003 started as 18-foot wide automated convenience stores, but as of 2005 has focused on DVD rental machines.

Revenues for 2004 were US$19.1 billion, with net income at $2.75 billion.

McDonald's Everywhere

Most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both counter and drive-through service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating. The Drive-Thru, Auto-Mac, or McDrive as it is known in many countries, often has separate stations for placing, paying for, and picking up orders, though the latter two steps are frequently combined. In some countries "McDrive" locations near highways offer no counter service or seating. In contrast, locations in high-density city neighborhoods often omit drive-through service. There are also a few locations, located mostly in downtown .districts, which offer Walk-Thru service in place of Drive-Thru.

Specially themed restaurants also exist, such as "Rock-and-Roll McDonald's" 1950s themed restaurants. Some McDonald's in suburban areas and certain cities feature large indoor or outdoor playgrounds, called "McDonald's PlayPlace" or "Playland". These were primarily created in the 1970s and 1980s in the USA, but later internationally.

Franchise

The McDonald's Corporation's business model is slightly different from that of most other fast-food chains. In addition to ordinary franchise fees, supplies, and percentage of sales, McDonald's also collects rent, partially linked to sales. As a condition of the franchise agreement, the Corporation owns the property on which most McDonald's franchises are located. However, in the UK the business model does not remain as concurrent with the global model with less than 30% of restaurants franchised and the majority under the ownership of the company itself.

McDonald's trains its franchisees and others at Hamburger University in Oak Brook, Illinois.

According to Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (2001), nearly one in eight workers in the US has at some time been employed by McDonald's. The book also states that McDonald's is the largest private operator of playgrounds in the U.S., as well as the single largest purchaser of beef, pork, potatoes, and apples.

(McDonald's Information Courtesy of Wikipedia.)