Companies in the conundrum of Geopolitical Risks : McDonald’s

McDonald’s is easily one of the most popular and influential fast food companies in the
world. Founded in 1940 by Richard and Maurice, McDonald’s started as a small drive-in
restaurant in San Bernardino, California, it has since evolved into a global icon of the fast-
food industry. The Golden Arches is by far the world’s largest fast-food restaurant chain with
40275 outlets, the US alone accounting for a third of them, as of 20221 in over 100 countries
worldwide serving 69 million customers daily on average. In 2021, McDonald’s earned in
revenue around 23.2 Billion dollars2, which is comparable to the GDP of some countries like
Senegal, which goes to show how popular and extensive the company is worldwide and its
Mcdonaldization, a term used by the American sociologist George Ritzer.

The franchise is known for its dine-in, drive-thru and takeout services which makes it
convenient for many consumers. Furthermore, numerous other services are present in multiple
restaurants such as automation (when customers can order using machines), a play area for
kids and other available facilities that differ from one country to another.

The map below showcases the locations of McDonald’s around the world3:

Yellow → Current locations / Black → Former locations

1
https://www.statista.com/statistics/219454/mcdonalds-restaurants-worldwide/
2
https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/content/dam/sites/corp/nfl/pdf/MCD_2023_Annual_Report.pdf
3
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3AMcDonald
%2527s_location_map.png&psig=AOvVaw0PPEOtlPA-
TVJpzfnCtpCk&ust=1699952569520000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBEQjRxqFwoTCJiErP_
OwIIDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE