The percentage of our retail client accounts that were profitable in the last, most recent, four quarters was: | Q1-2026 : 30% | Q4-2025: 29% | Q3-2025: 40% | Q2-2025: 30%. Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are complex instruments with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage and may not be suitable for all investors. You should not trade with money you cannot afford to lose. These percentages are for illustrative purposes only and do not indicate future performance.
McDonald’s is easily one of the most recognisable brands, with the company being one of the largest fast-food chains in the world as of 2020. The company was founded by siblings, Richard and Maurice McDonald, on May 15th, 1940. The restaurant operated as a popular hamburger stand and laid the foundations of the mammoth global company well known around the world today. McDonald’s is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and has operations throughout the world, with its golden double-arch logo a symbol of the globalisation and transition of the American lifestyle.
McDonald’s introduced the ‘Speedee Service System’ that forms the basis of how fast foods operate to date – a quick-service system that eliminated the need for waiters and waitresses. But, while the McDonald brothers are credited with this innovation, it was the milkshake machines salesman, Ray Kroc, that saw the true potential of the restaurant model. After being amazed by how a single restaurant bought and operated multiple milkshake machines, Kroc joined the company as a franchisee and was incorporated into the McDonald’s Corporation in 1955.
Kroc eventually edged out the McDonald brothers and took charge of expanding the company domestically and internationally. By the end of the 1960s, McDonald’s operated over 1,000 restaurants, and before the end of the 1980s, the number topped 10,000. Exponential growth continued in the 1990s, and by the turn of the millennium, McDonald’s had a presence in over 100 countries, operating over 35,000 restaurants. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, McDonald’s sought to diversify its business and acquired notable brands around the world, such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Aroma Café, Boston Market and Donatos Pizza.
Nonetheless, the company had, by 2008, made divestitures in almost all those and other companies, focusing instead on strengthening and promoting its own brand. The company is one of the largest private employers in the world, and in addition to its trademark hamburgers, it has in its menu a wide variety of value-priced products. McDonald’s has adapted brilliantly to the needs of the modern-day ‘eater’, incorporating healthy products as well as efficient home delivery services. The company went public in 1965 and is listed on the NYSE where it trades under the ticker symbol MCD. It falls in the Consumer Cyclicals sector, under the Restaurants industry.
There were 10 splits for the McDonald’s stock before 1990, a representation of a period where the company experienced phenomenal growth. Since then (up till September 2020), there have only been 2 splits as follows: a 2-for-1 on June 7th, 1994; and a 2-for-1 on February 12th, 1999.
In the early years, McDonald’s sought to split when its stock was about to hit triple digits, with the company keen to remain attractive in the retail investment community. With discount brokers available nowadays, the company may see no need to place a stock split on its menu.
Adjusted for splits, the McDonald’s stock rose from a price of circa $1 to trade at circa $50 towards the end of 1999. The turn of the millennium saw the stock retrace its multi-year gains, bottoming out at circa $13 by February 2003. Since then, the stock has drifted higher and higher, printing an all-time high at circa $225 in September 2020. McDonald’s operates a cash flow heavy business and has over the years been one of the consistent biggest payers of dividends. In fact, McDonald’s has, at one time, been named as one of the S&P 500’s ‘dividends aristocrats’.
McDonald’s has often been one of the most attractive stocks on Wall st. Here are some of the factors to consider when trading the stock:
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Here is why you should consider trading the McDonald’s stock with Friedberg Direct:
Friedberg Direct is fully regulated in Canada. Enjoy the peace of mind when trading with a locally regulated Canadian broker.
Trade MCD stock with a leverage of up to 3.3:1 on Friedberg Direct and expand your trading activities.
Trade McDonald’s stock as a CFD and find trading opportunities in both rising and falling markets.
Trade MCD stock and enjoy transparent prices, competitive spreads and rapid execution of all orders at all times.
Enhance your trading activities by utilising the comprehensive trading resources available at Friedberg Direct. Access our handy education section and economic calendar
Are you ready to chomp down on McDonald’s stock? Start trading at Friedberg Direct today!
Disclaimer: Please note these are stock CFDs (Contracts for Difference)
When you enter into a CFD trade you don’t buy the actual stock itself but instead agree on a contract with the broker to settle the difference in value between the entry and exit price of the Stock based on the price the stock is trading at on the Exchange it is listed. That means when you trade Stocks CFDs with Friedberg Direct you get a flexibility that stock market rules often make very difficult or even impossible for some.