McDonald’s reported second-quarter net income of $2,362 million, up 5 percent from $2,253 million a year earlier, with diluted earnings per share rising 6 percent to $3.32. But the headline gain masks a weaker underlying picture: in constant currencies, stripping out the $0.03 per share benefit from foreign exchange translation, earnings per share grew only 5 percent. For the six-month period, the company posted net income of $4,345 million, up 5 percent, and earnings per share of $6.10, up 6 percent, though constant-currency earnings per share growth slowed to 3 percent. The company provided no forward guidance in this filing.
Quarterly revenues reached $7,099 million, up from $6,843 million in the prior year quarter, a 4 percent increase that becomes 3 percent when currency translation is removed. Franchised revenues, which represent the bulk of the business model, grew 4 percent to $4,393 million, or 3 percent in constant currencies. Company-owned and operated sales grew 3 percent to $2,525 million, or flat in constant currencies. For the six-month period, revenues of $13,616 million compared to $12,799 million a year prior, a 6 percent reported gain that narrows to 6 percent in constant currencies. The company incurred restructuring charges of $52 million, or $0.06 per share, in the quarter as part of its “Accelerating the Organization” modernization effort.
What it means
McDonald’s growth is running substantially below its full-year 2025 revenue growth rate of 3.7 percent when currency effects are stripped away. The six-month constant-currency revenue growth of 6 percent appears stronger, but that figure includes an easier comparison to the first half of 2025 and masks a deceleration visible in the quarterly print. Franchised revenues, the company’s primary earnings driver, grew only 3 percent in constant currencies during the quarter, suggesting that underlying franchisee sales momentum is modest. Company-owned restaurant sales were flat in constant currencies, indicating no organic lift from the company’s own operations.
The currency tailwind is material and temporary. Foreign exchange translation added $0.03 per share in the quarter and $0.17 per share for the six months, accounting for roughly half of the reported earnings per share growth in the period. The company notes that most major currencies strengthened against the dollar, primarily the Euro and Australian Dollar. This benefit will reverse if those currencies weaken, and it masks the fact that underlying operational earnings growth is running at or below low single digits in constant currency terms.
The open question is whether the modest constant-currency growth reflects a temporary softness in franchisee sales or a structural slowdown in the business. The document does not disclose comparable sales growth, which would indicate whether the growth in franchised revenues stems from new unit development or from same-store sales increases at existing locations. Without that metric, it is impossible to determine whether the company is growing through expansion or facing headwinds in like-for-like sales.
Source: the company’s 8-K filed 2026-08-04 with the SEC.
