Fast-food chain McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) met Wall Streets revenue expectations in Q3 CY2025, with sales up 3% year on year to $7.08 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $3.22 per share was 3.4% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

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"We increased global Systemwide sales by 6% and grew comp sales across all segments, a testament to our ability to deliver sustainable growth even in a challenging environment," said Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski.

Company Overview

With nicknames spanning Mickey D's in the U.S. to Makku in Japan, McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) is a fast-food behemoth known for its convenience and broken ice cream machines.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years.

With $26.27 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, McDonald's is one of the most widely recognized restaurant chains and benefits from customer loyalty, a luxury many don’t have. Its scale also gives it negotiating leverage with suppliers, enabling it to source its ingredients at a lower cost. However, its scale is a double-edged sword because there is only so much real estate to build restaurants, placing a ceiling on its growth. For McDonald's to boost its sales, it likely needs to adjust its prices, launch new chains, or lean into foreign markets.

As you can see below, McDonald's grew its sales at a sluggish 3.9% compounded annual growth rate over the last six years (we compare to 2019 to normalize for COVID-19 impacts) as it barely increased sales at existing, established dining locations.

This quarter, McDonald's grew its revenue by 3% year on year, and its $7.08 billion of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 6.3% over the next 12 months. Although this projection suggests its newer menu offerings will spur better top-line performance, it is still below the sector average. At least the company is tracking well in other measures of financial health.

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Restaurant Performance

Number of Restaurants

A restaurant chain’s total number of dining locations influences how much it can sell and how quickly revenue can grow.

McDonald's opened new restaurants at a rapid clip over the last two years, averaging 3.9% annual growth, much faster than the broader restaurant sector. Additionally, one dynamic making expansion more seamless is the company’s franchise model, where franchisees are primarily responsible for opening new restaurants while McDonald's provides support.

When a chain opens new restaurants, it usually means it’s investing for growth because there’s healthy demand for its meals and there are markets where its concepts have few or no locations.

Note that McDonald's reports its restaurant count intermittently, so some data points are missing in the chart below.

Same-Store Sales

A company's restaurant base only paints one part of the picture. When demand is high, it makes sense to open more. But when demand is low, it’s prudent to close some locations and use the money in other ways. Same-store sales provides a deeper understanding of this issue because it measures organic growth at restaurants open for at least a year.

McDonald’s demand within its existing dining locations has been relatively stable over the last two years but was below most restaurant chains. On average, the company’s same-store sales have grown by 1.2% per year. This performance suggests it should consider improving its foot traffic and efficiency before expanding its restaurant base.

In the latest quarter, McDonald’s same-store sales rose 3.6% year on year. This growth was an acceleration from its historical levels, which is always an encouraging sign.

Key Takeaways from McDonald’s Q3 Results

We struggled to find many positives in these results. Its EBITDA missed and its EPS fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock remained flat at $301 immediately following the results.

Big picture, is McDonald's a buy here and now? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free for active Edge members.