MCDONALDS CORP (MCD) — payout ratio, three ways
Fiscal year ending 2025-12-31 · sector Consumer discretionary · computed from SEC filings, not taken from a data vendor.
| Basis | Payout | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 60.0% | The figure most screeners publish. |
| Operating cash flow | 48.5% | Before capital spending, so it understates the payout that free cash flow shows. |
| Free cash flow | 71.2% | What is left after maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 23 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $7.17 ÷ diluted EPS $11.95
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $5,115.0m ÷ operating cash flow $10,551.0m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $5,115.0m ÷ (operating cash flow $10,551.0m − capex $3,365.0m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-24 · accession
0000063908-26-000035
Every one is public at sec.gov and free to check. That is the point — you should not have to take my word for any of it.
Caveats on this company
- DPS $7.17 filed as declared, but dividends paid imply $7139866.00 — one of the two underlying facts is wrong. The filed per-share figure is used.
Computed by an open pipeline reading SEC XBRL directly. If any number here looks wrong to you, tell me — that is more useful to me than agreement.