McDonald's Corporation

Who owns it

• Vanguard Group Inc.10.18%external_dataset · 2025-12-31
• Geode Capital Management2.53%external_dataset · 2026-03-31
• Morgan Stanley2.2%external_dataset · 2026-03-31
• Fidelity Investments (FMR LLC)0.51%external_dataset · 2026-03-31
• Chris Kempczinski0.03%sec_filing · 2025-04-01

2 further ownership links are recorded, but not from a filing we can point you to, so they are not shown here.

What’s documented

• 2026-06-24otherPeople's Union USA scheduled a week-long boycott of McDonald's from June 24-30, 2026, as the latest action in its rolling Economic Blackout Tour. The campaign cites McDonald's January 2026 announcement ending aspirational diversity hiring goals in senior leadership, renaming its Diversity Team to 'Global Inclusion Team,' and dropping its Supply Chain DEI pledge. Organizers also cite allegations of price gouging and worker rights suppression.source →
• 2026-04-28otherAs of April 2026, the decentralized McDonald's boycott movement continues with regular protests outside franchise locations, often featuring costumes of McDonald's characters to draw attention to the company's January 2026 decision to end specific DEI programs including senior leadership diversity goals and supplier diversity training requirements. Early Q1-Q2 2026 data suggests noticeable declines in North American foot traffic and same-store sales. The People's Union USA has scheduled a monthlong McDonald's boycott for August 2026 as part of its Economic Blackout Tour.source →
• 2026-04-23regulatoryAction1000 SEC filings on record (555 4, 116 8-K, 51 144, 30 424B2, 29 10-Q)source →
• 2026-04-14otherPeople's Union USA announced its rolling Economic Blackout Tour schedule extending through summer 2026: General Mills boycott April 21-28, Easter weekend national blackout April 18-20, Independence Day economic blackout July 4, and monthlong boycotts of McDonald's (August), Starbucks, Amazon, and Home Depot planned for later in the year; the campaign targets corporations over DEI rollbacks, rising prices, and labor practices; the group claims the earlier Amazon boycott (March 7-14) reached 43% consumer awareness according to a Numerator surveysource →
• 2026-03-31laborRelationsIn March 2026, the Illinois Attorney General sued a McDonald's franchise owner in Lockport for at least 568 violations of the Child Labor Law, with assessed civil penalties of $2,179,000. The lawsuit alleges 14 and 15-year-olds were kept working past 11 PM, with one case documenting a shift until 1:30 AM and individual shifts stretching as long as 17 hours.source →
• 2026-03-15otherThe BDS-aligned boycott of McDonald's continued into 2026, with early Q1 and Q2 data indicating declines in foot traffic and same-store sales in North America. McDonald's had previously bought back all 225 restaurants from its Israeli franchisee Alonyal in April 2024.source →
• 2026-03-01otherA decentralized McDonald's boycott continued through Q1 2026, driven by consumer concerns over pricing transparency, ethical sourcing, labor conditions, and the company's January 2025 rollback of DEI initiatives; early Q1-Q2 2026 data indicates noticeable declines in foot traffic and same-store sales in North America; the movement spread via social media and community groups rather than a single organized campaignsource →
• 2026-02-11regulatoryActionSEC 8-K material event filing: 8-Ksource →
• 2026-02-10regulatoryActionSEC 8-K material event filing: 8-Ksource →
• 2026-02-01otherMcDonald's continues to lag behind competitors on broiler chicken welfare commitments. While the company committed to the Better Chicken Commitment in 2017, implementation timelines have been extended multiple times. McDonald's uses approximately 2% of all chickens raised in the U.S. annually. The Humane Society and other organizations rate McDonald's chicken welfare progress as insufficient.source →
• 2026-01-15otherThe People's Union USA organized multiple boycott periods against McDonald's in 2025-2026, citing the company's rollback of DEI programs, price increases, and pay inequality; early 2026 data indicated declines in foot traffic and same-store sales in North Americasource →
• 2026-01-10lobbyingUnion leaders criticized Telus for receiving lucrative federal and provincial government contracts and subsidies while cutting thousands of jobs; USW and CUPE lobbied the federal government to attach job-preservation conditions to telecom subsidiessource →
• 2026-01-09laborRelationsTelus offered voluntary severance packages to approximately 700 more employees across Canada in January 2026, totaling nearly 1,400 severance offers in under a year; customer complaints to the CCTS rose 62% in 2025 compared to 2024source →
• 2025-12-31lobbyingReported ~$160,000 in US federal lobbying activity (2025) on Taxation/Internal Revenue Code; lobbied 3 government entities.source →
• 2025-12-31lobbyingMcDonald's Corporation spent approximately $2.6 million on federal lobbying in 2025, with lobbying efforts focused on labor regulation, franchise law, food safety standards, and trade policy.source →
• 2025-11-05regulatoryActionSEC 8-K material event filing: 8-Ksource →
• 2025-09-29lobbyingMcDonald's announced it would stop lobbying against minimum wage increases at all levels of government and departed the National Restaurant Association over its continued support of subminimum wages for tipped workerssource →
• 2025-08-27regulatoryActionSEC 8-K material event filing: 8-Ksource →
• 2025-08-06regulatoryActionSEC 8-K material event filing: 8-Ksource →
• 2025-08-01otherA second nationwide McDonald's boycott organized by the People's Union USA was scheduled to begin August 1, 2025 and last throughout the month, escalating from the June 2025 boycott action.source →
• 2025-08-01regulatoryActionVanguard was ordered to pay a $19.5 million civil penalty by the SEC for disclosure failures related to adviser compensation. Between August 2020 and December 2023, Vanguard tied parts of advisers' performance evaluations and bonuses to client enrollment and retention metrics in its Personal Advisor Services program, while marketing content downplayed or misstated these conflicts of interest.source →
• 2025-08-01otherA second nationwide boycott of McDonald's was organized for August 1, 2025, extending consumer pressure on the company over labor practices and diversity program rollbacks.source →
• 2025-06-24otherThe People's Union USA called for a seven-day 'economic blackout' of McDonald's from June 24-30, 2025, protesting the company's rollback of DEI initiatives including ending supplier diversity targets, ceasing participation in external diversity surveys, and renaming its diversity team to 'Global Inclusion Team'source →
• 2025-06-24legalProceedingOver 40 Black former McDonald's franchisees filed a federal lawsuit alleging systemic racial discrimination, including being forced into low-profit stores in high-crime areas and denied the ability to purchase locations in higher-income communities. Roughly half of Black franchisees left the system by 2020 compared to 10% of white operators.source →
• 2025-06-24otherThe People's Union USA organized a nationwide week-long boycott of McDonald's beginning June 24, 2025, citing the company's rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments, high menu prices, and labor practices.source →
• 2025-06-24otherThe People's Union USA organized a nationwide 'economic blackout' of McDonald's beginning June 24, 2025 for six days, calling on consumers to boycott the chain over business practices including the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.source →
• 2025-05-01otherMcDonald's reported a 3.6% drop in US same-store sales in Q1 2025, the steepest decline since the height of the pandemic in 2020, amid consumer boycotts and concerns about rising pricessource →
• 2025-05-01otherMcDonald's reported global same-store sales fell 1% in Q1 2025 — the company's first such decline in approximately four years. McDonald's management stated the Israel–Gaza war had "meaningfully impacted" performance in some overseas markets.source →
• 2025-03-01otherThe BDS movement called for an escalation of the McDonald's boycott during Ramadan 2025, citing continued corporate ties to Israeli operations despite the franchise buyback, and urging consumers worldwide to avoid the brand.source →
• 2025-02-01laborRelationsTelus offered voluntary severance packages to approximately 700 employees nationwide across network operations, engineering, and business solutions, continuing a restructuring that has eliminated roughly 3,300 jobs since 2023source →
• 2025-01-21otherMcDonald's lost over $7 billion in revenue globally due to boycotts related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to Israeli financial media, with significant impacts in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe.source →
• 2025-01-21otherMcDonald's reported cumulative revenue losses exceeding $7 billion attributed to global boycotts following the Israeli franchise's provision of free meals to IDF soldiers, with significant sales declines in Muslim-majority markets including Egypt, Jordan, Malaysia, Kuwait, and Pakistan.source →
• 2025-01-21otherMcDonald's lost over $7 billion in market value attributed to the ongoing consumer boycott related to its Israeli franchise's support of the IDF, according to financial analysis of the company's stock performance since October 2023.source →
• 2025-01-17regulatoryActionVanguard agreed to pay $106.41 million to settle SEC charges for misleading statements about capital gains distributions and tax consequences for retail investors holding Vanguard Investor Target Retirement Funds in taxable accounts. The SEC found Vanguard lowered minimum investment for Institutional TRFs from $100 million to $5 million in December 2020, triggering mass redemptions that generated unexpected taxable capital gains for remaining Investor TRF holders.source →
• 2025-01-15otherMcDonald's confirmed it had achieved its goal of phasing out the use of gestation stalls for confirmed pregnant sows in its U.S. pork supply by the end of 2024. The phase-out fulfilled a public commitment first announced in 2012; sustained advocacy from animal welfare groups and consumer pressure drove timely completion.source →
• 2025-01-09environmentalBlackRock withdrew from the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative on January 9, 2025, causing NZAM to temporarily suspend its activities pending a review. BlackRock stated that its participation in climate-focused groups had caused confusion about its investment practices and subjected the firm to legal inquiries from state officials. BlackRock had been among the founding members of NZAM and managed over $11 trillion in assets at the time of withdrawal.source →
• 2025-01-06otherMcDonald's scaled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in January 2025, retiring specific diversity goals and changing the name of its diversity team.source →
• 2025-01-01lobbyingMcDonald's maintained membership in the National Restaurant Association and the International Franchise Association, both of which lobby against federal and state minimum wage increases. This continued despite the company voluntarily raising wages at company-owned US restaurants.source →
• 2025-01-01laborRelationsMcDonald's has faced multiple NLRB complaints and DOL wage theft settlements related to franchise worker compensation, including allegations of minimum wage and overtime violations across franchise locations.source →
• 2025-01-01otherBDS movement maintains McDonald's under its 'Organic Boycott Targets' category, endorsing grassroots boycott campaigns worldwide due to the Israeli franchise's reported support for IDF operations.source →
• 2025-01-01lobbyingMcDonald's has historically opposed minimum wage increases at the federal and state level through direct lobbying and industry trade associations, including the National Restaurant Association.source →
• 2024-12-31lobbyingMcDonald's spent approximately $2.9 million on federal lobbying in 2024, including efforts through the National Restaurant Association opposing federal minimum wage increases while simultaneously raising wages at company-owned restaurants.source →
• 2024-12-31otherAccording to Israeli media reports, McDonald's lost over $7 billion in revenue in 2024 due to global boycotts following its Israeli franchise's donation of meals to IDF soldiers. Sales for franchises in several Arab countries declined between 50% and 90% month-on-month.source →
• 2024-12-31lobbyingReported ~$1,640,000 in US federal lobbying activity (2024) on Agriculture, Education, Food Industry (safety, labeling, etc.), Government Issues…; lobbied 10 government entities.source →
• 2024-12-31otherMcDonald's global same-store sales decreased 0.1% in 2024 and dropped 1% in Q1 2025, the first such decline since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. CEO Chris Kempczinski attributed the decline in part to ongoing boycotts in Middle Eastern and Muslim-majority markets.source →
• 2024-12-31lobbyingMcDonald's Corporation spent approximately $3.4 million on federal lobbying in 2024, covering areas including labor regulations, food safety, franchising rules, and trade policy.source →
• 2024-12-31lobbyingVanguard Group spent $2,650,000 on federal lobbying in 2024. The company's PAC made $502,046 in political contributions during the 2024 election cycle, including $382,500 to federal candidates.source →
• 2024-12-31lobbyingBlackRock Inc. spent $2.88 million on US federal lobbying in 2024 and made approximately $2.6 million in political contributions during the 2024 election cycle, according to disclosure data filed with the US Senate and recorded by OpenSecrets.source →
• 2024-12-15otherMcDonald's achieved its 2015 commitment to source 100% cage-free eggs across its US supply chain in 2024, two years ahead of the original 2025 target. The US system purchased nearly 2 billion eggs in 2023.source →
• 2024-11-01legalProceedingTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in November 2024 against Vanguard Group, BlackRock Inc., and State Street Corporation, alleging the three asset managers conspired through ESG-aligned investment practices and climate coalitions to restrict coal production in violation of federal antitrust law.source →

What we’ve classified so far

• conflict profiteering24
• political influence12
• worker exploitation9
• environmental damage7
• monopoly abuse2
• discrimination1

36 further documented actions have not been classified yet. These counts show what we have got to, not a total.