vs
Side-by-side financial comparison of McDonald's (MCD) and Starbucks (SBUX), based on the latest 10-Q / 10-K filings. Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Starbucks is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($9.9B vs $7.0B, roughly 1.4× McDonald's). McDonald's runs the higher net margin — 30.9% vs 3.0%, a 27.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, McDonald's posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (9.7% vs 5.5%). McDonald's produced more free cash flow last quarter ($1.6B vs $1.3B). Over the past eight quarters, Starbucks's revenue compounded faster (7.6% CAGR vs 6.6%).
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food restaurant chain. As of 2024, it is the second-largest by number of locations in the world, behind the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea.
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker at Seattle's Pike Place Market initially as a coffee bean wholesaler.
MCD vs SBUX — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q1 2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $7.0B | $9.9B |
| Net Profit | $2.2B | $293.3M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 45.0% | 9.0% |
| Net Margin | 30.9% | 3.0% |
| Revenue YoY | 9.7% | 5.5% |
| Net Profit YoY | 7.3% | -62.4% |
| EPS (diluted) | $3.03 | $0.26 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align — see 8-quarter trend below.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history — bar widths are scaled to the larger of the two companies so you can eyeball the size gap and growth trajectory without doing math. Quarters aligned by calendar period (report date) so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $7.0B | $9.9B | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.1B | $9.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $6.8B | $9.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $6.0B | $8.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $6.4B | $9.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $6.9B | $9.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $6.5B | $9.1B | ||
| Q1 24 | $6.2B | $8.6B |
| Q4 25 | $2.2B | $293.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.3B | $133.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.3B | $558.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.9B | $384.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.0B | $780.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3B | $909.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.0B | $1.1B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.9B | $772.4M |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 90.6% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 90.4% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 89.6% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 90.6% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 90.3% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 89.8% | — |
| Q4 25 | 45.0% | 9.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 47.4% | 2.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 47.2% | 9.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 44.5% | 6.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 44.9% | 11.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 46.4% | 14.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 45.0% | 16.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 44.4% | 12.8% |
| Q4 25 | 30.9% | 3.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 32.2% | 1.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 32.9% | 5.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 31.4% | 4.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 31.6% | 8.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 32.8% | 10.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 31.2% | 11.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 31.3% | 9.0% |
| Q4 25 | $3.03 | $0.26 | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.18 | $0.11 | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.14 | $0.49 | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.60 | $0.34 | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.80 | $0.69 | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.13 | $0.80 | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.80 | $0.93 | ||
| Q1 24 | $2.66 | $0.68 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest filing — the kind of financial-strength check premium terminals charge for.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $774.0M | $184.9M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $40.0B | $16.1B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $-1.8B | $-8.4B |
| Total Assets | $59.5B | $32.2B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $774.0M | $184.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.4B | $247.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.9B | $333.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.2B | $340.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.1B | $285.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.2B | $257.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $792.0M | $212.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $838.0M | $362.5M |
| Q4 25 | $40.0B | $16.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $16.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $17.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $15.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $38.4B | $15.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $15.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $15.6B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $15.5B |
| Q4 25 | $-1.8B | $-8.4B | ||
| Q3 25 | $-2.2B | $-8.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $-2.8B | $-7.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $-3.5B | $-7.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $-3.8B | $-7.5B | ||
| Q3 24 | $-5.2B | $-7.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | $-4.8B | $-7.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $-4.8B | $-8.4B |
| Q4 25 | $59.5B | $32.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $60.6B | $32.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $59.6B | $33.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $56.3B | $31.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $55.2B | $31.9B | ||
| Q3 24 | $56.2B | $31.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $53.8B | $30.1B | ||
| Q1 24 | $53.5B | $29.4B |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Net income can be massaged; cash flow is harder to fake.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $2.7B | $1.6B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $1.6B | $1.3B |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 23.4% | 12.8% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue; lower = less reinvestment burden | 15.1% | 3.3% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit; >1× = earnings back up with cash | 1.25× | 5.45× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $7.2B | $2.3B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $2.7B | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.4B | $1.4B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.0B | $1.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.4B | $292.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.6B | $2.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.7B | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.7B | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 24 | $2.4B | $506.0M |
| Q4 25 | $1.6B | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.4B | $925.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.3B | $434.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.9B | $-297.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.8B | $1.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.9B | $737.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.1B | $945.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.8B | $-153.1M |
| Q4 25 | 23.4% | 12.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 34.1% | 9.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 18.3% | 4.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 31.5% | -3.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 28.6% | 14.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 28.3% | 8.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 16.3% | 10.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 29.9% | -1.8% |
| Q4 25 | 15.1% | 3.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 14.3% | 4.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 10.9% | 6.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 9.3% | 6.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 12.6% | 7.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 11.6% | 8.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 9.7% | 7.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 8.9% | 7.7% |
| Q4 25 | 1.25× | 5.45× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.50× | 10.38× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.89× | 1.79× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.30× | 0.76× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.30× | 2.65× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.21× | 1.69× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.84× | 1.58× | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.24× | 0.66× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Sankey diagram of revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company. Charts shown full-width and stacked so both segment hierarchies are readable side-by-side on desktop and mobile.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
MCD
| International Operated Markets | $3.6B | 51% |
| Other | $2.8B | 40% |
| International Developmental Licensed Marketsand Corporate | $633.0M | 9% |
SBUX
Segment breakdown not available.
