McDonald's (MCD) Q4 FY2021 earnings: revenue $6.0 billion, up 13.1% on the year

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) reported revenue of $6.0 billion for Q4 FY2021, the quarter ended 31 December 2021, up 13.1% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $1.6 billion, up 19.0% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $2.18. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-K it filed with the SEC on 24 February 2022.

Revenue

$6.0 billion

+13.1% on the year · -3.1% on the quarter

Q1 FY2020Q4 FY2021

Operating margin

39.9%

40.3% a year earlier

Q1 FY2020Q4 FY2021

Net income

$1.6 billion

+19.0% on the year · -23.8% on the quarter

Q1 FY2020Q4 FY2021

Diluted EPS

$2.18

+18.5% on the year · -23.8% on the quarter

Q1 FY2020Q4 FY2021

this quarterthe same quarter a year earlierHover a bar for its figure.

Income statement (profit and loss)

$ million	Q4 FY2021	Q3 FY2021	Q4 FY2020	On the quarter	On the year
Revenue	6,009	6,201	5,314	-3.1%	+13.1%
Operating income	2,397	2,986	2,143	-19.7%	+11.9%
Operating margin	39.9%	48.2%	40.3%
Interest expense	296	n/a	n/a
Income tax	469	n/a	n/a
Net income	1,639	2,150	1,377	-23.8%	+19.0%
Net margin	27.3%	n/a	n/a
Diluted EPS	$2.18	$2.86	$1.84	-23.8%	+18.5%

$ million except per share.

Fourth quarters are the year less the first three quarters. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow

$ million	Q4 FY2021	Q3 FY2021	Q4 FY2020	On the quarter	On the year
Operating cash flow	2,666	n/a	n/a
Capital expenditure	687	n/a	n/a
Free cash flow	1,979	n/a	n/a
Free cash flow margin	32.9%	n/a	n/a
Cash from investing	-1,123	n/a	n/a
Cash from financing	-1,098	n/a	n/a
Depreciation and amortisation	86.5	84.1	80.3	+2.9%	+7.7%
Share-based compensation	41.3	n/a	n/a
Buybacks	803	n/a	n/a
Dividends paid	1,029	n/a	n/a
Diluted shares, weighted	752m	753m	750m	-0.1%	+0.2%
Shares outstanding at period end	744m	747m	746m	-0.5%	-0.3%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet

$ million	Q4 FY2021	Q3 FY2021	Q4 FY2020	On the quarter	On the year
Shareholders' equity	-4,601	-5,675	-7,825
Debt	35,623	35,128	37,440	+1.4%	-4.9%
Operating lease liabilities	13,021	n/a	n/a
Other liabilities	9,812	n/a	n/a
Total liabilities and equity	53,854	n/a	n/a
Fixed assets	24,721	n/a	n/a
Goodwill	2,782	n/a	n/a
Cash and equivalents	4,709	4,306	3,449	+9.4%	+36.5%
Inventory	55.6	n/a	n/a
Other assets	21,586	n/a	n/a
Total assets	53,854	n/a	n/a

Questions

What was McDonald's' revenue in Q4 FY2021?

McDonald's (MCD) reported revenue of $6.0 billion for Q4 FY2021, the quarter ended 31 December 2021, up 13.1% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did McDonald's earn in Q4 FY2021?

Net income for Q4 FY2021 was $1.6 billion, up 19.0% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $2.18.

When did McDonald's report Q4 FY2021 results?

McDonald's filed its 10-K for the year that ended with the quarter on 24 February 2022; the fourth quarter is the year less the first three.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

	Q4 FY2021 *	Q1 FY2022	Q2 FY2022	Q3 FY2022	Q4 FY2022 *	Q1 FY2023 †	Q2 FY2023 †	Q3 FY2023 †	Q4 FY2023 * †	Q1 FY2024	Q2 FY2024	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024 *	Q1 FY2025	Q2 FY2025	Q3 FY2025	Q4 FY2025 *	Q1 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2026
Revenue	6,009	5,666	5,718	5,872	5,926	5,898	6,498	6,692	6,406	6,169	6,490	6,873	6,388	5,956	6,843	7,078	7,008	6,517	7,099	7,157
Cost of revenue	n/a	584	589	589	n/a	598	618	625	n/a	627	629	646	n/a	620	654	666	n/a	676	680	687
Gross profit	n/a	5,082	5,130	5,283	n/a	5,300	5,879	6,067	n/a	5,542	5,861	6,227	n/a	5,336	6,189	6,412	n/a	5,841	6,419	6,470
Gross margin	n/a	90%	90%	90%	n/a	90%	90%	91%	n/a	90%	90%	91%	n/a	90%	90%	91%	n/a	90%	90%	90%
SG&A	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	720	691	647	800	682	700	785	872	759	817	759
Operating income	2,397	2,313	1,712	2,764	2,583	2,532	3,104	3,208	2,802	2,736	2,920	3,188	2,868	2,648	3,232	3,357	3,156	2,953	3,338	3,595
Operating margin	40%	41%	30%	47%	44%	43%	48%	48%	44%	44%	45%	46%	45%	44%	47%	47%	45%	45%	47%	50%
Interest expense	296	287	291	306	323	330	330	341	360	372	373	381	380	376	390	406	410	400	409	408
Net income	1,639	1,104	1,188	1,982	1,903	1,802	2,310	2,317	2,039	1,929	2,022	2,255	2,017	1,868	2,253	2,278	2,164	1,983	2,362	2,486
Net margin	27%	19%	21%	34%	32%	31%	36%	35%	32%	31%	31%	33%	32%	31%	33%	32%	31%	30%	33%	35%
Diluted EPS	$2.18	$1.48	$1.60	$2.68	$2.59	$2.45	$3.15	$3.17	$2.80	$2.66	$2.80	$3.13	$2.80	$2.60	$3.14	$3.18	$3.03	$2.78	$3.32	$3.51
Operating cash flow	2,666	2,133	618	2,434	2,201	2,421	1,673	3,029	2,489	2,390	1,689	2,736	2,632	2,428	1,998	3,428	2,697	2,412	2,807	3,031
Capital expenditure	687	401	438	531	529	503	526	570	757	547	628	794	806	551	744	1,011	1,059	682	831	884
Free cash flow	1,979	1,732	180	1,903	1,672	1,917	1,147	2,459	1,732	1,843	1,061	1,942	1,826	1,877	1,254	2,417	1,638	1,730	1,976	2,147
Buybacks	803	1,506	1,031	869	489	578	570	1,054	852	918	934	469	503	477	505	501	573	396	856	519
Dividends paid	1,029	1,025	1,017	1,015	1,112	1,111	1,109	1,105	1,208	1,206	1,199	1,197	1,268	1,266	1,265	1,262	1,322	1,323	1,317	1,314
Shares outstanding	744m	740m	736m	732m	731m	730m	729m	725m	722m	721m	717m	717m	714m	715m	714m	712m	710m	711m	708m	706m
Filing	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q

Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.

* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. A quarter marked † is shown as the company last restated it in a later filing, so it compares with the quarters around it on one basis; rest on a figure for the one first filed. EPS is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

10-K for the period ended 31 December 2021, filed 24 February 2022: the filing.