McDonald's: brand value 2006-2023

In 2023, McDonald's brand value amounted to 191.11 billion U.S. dollars, down from 196.53 billion dollars a year earlier – an annual decline of almost three percent.

The Golden Arches

McDonald's started its business as a barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. Throughout the years, the company transformed into the leading fast-food franchise with the famous Golden Arches logo. As of May 2023, McDonald's ranked among the largest companies worldwide by market capitalization. Furthermore, the food behemoth was the highest-valued quick-service restaurant chain in the world by a wide margin in 2022, beating competitors such as Starbucks, KFC, and Burger King.

More than a hamburger

McDonald's operates in over 100 countries and produces its most famous hamburger, the Big Mac. This fact provides an informal measure of purchasing power parity between countries – namely the Big Mac Index, introduced by The Economist in 1986. According to the index, Switzerland had the most expensive Big Macs worldwide at 7.73 dollars as of July 2023. Norway and Uruguay followed at 6.92 dollars and 6.86 dollars, respectively.