CEO Salary & Executive Compensation
McDonald's MCD
CEO: Chris Kempczinski · Restaurants · 150,000 employees
Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald's (MCD), earned $12.0M in total compensation in 2025. McDonald's receives a Pay-for-Performance grade of C (55/100), with a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 429:1 and a say-on-pay shareholder approval of 86.8%. The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +5.9%.
How McDonald's CEO Pay Compares
Chris Kempczinski's $12.0M total compensation is 50% above the Restaurants industry median of $8.0M. The 429:1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 25% higher than the industry average of 343:1.
Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald's (MCD), received $12.0M in total reported compensation. The package mix typical at this scale: a small base salary, a larger stock-award component, and performance-tied incentives that vest over multiple years based on relative TSR or earnings benchmarks.
The CEO-to-worker pay ratio at McDonald's is 429x — Chris Kempczinski's pay is over 300 times the median worker pay of $28,000. Ratios at this magnitude reflect either very high CEO compensation, a low-wage workforce mix, or both. Three-year performance has been roughly flat — TSR of 5.9% alongside 2.7% revenue growth. Flat performance over a multi-year window is where pay-versus-performance debates get the most heated: large compensation packages without commensurate shareholder returns are the modal complaint at annual meetings.
Shareholders supported the compensation package at 87% on the most recent say-on-pay vote. Solid support without overwhelming endorsement is the typical pattern for established public companies with conventional compensation programs. McDonald's operates in Restaurants with 150,000 employees and $25.5B in annual revenue, and currently carries a market capitalization of $210.0B. Pay comparisons across companies require controlling for these structural factors — a $20M package at a $10B-revenue tech company reads differently than the same package at a $1B-revenue industrial.
Source: SEC EDGAR — DEF 14A proxy statements for McDonald's (MCD).
Compensation Breakdown
Chris Kempczinski's $12.0M total compensation package for fiscal year 2025 includes $1.2M in base salary, $6.0M in stock awards, $1.4M in option awards, and $1.8M in bonus and non-equity incentives.
Compensation History
| Year | Salary | Bonus | Stock Awards | Options | Non-Equity | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1.2M | - | $6.0M | $1.4M | $1.8M | $1.3M | $12.0M |
| 2024 | $1.2M | - | $6.0M | $1.4M | $1.8M | $1.3M | $12.0M |
| 2023 | $1.2M | - | $6.0M | $1.4M | $1.8M | $1.3M | $12.0M |
| 2022 | $1.2M | - | $6.0M | $1.4M | $1.8M | $1.3M | $12.0M |
All compensation data is sourced from SEC DEF 14A proxy filings submitted to EDGAR. The Economic Policy Institute's CEO pay analysis provides additional context on executive compensation trends across industries.
Named Executive Officers
Peer CEO Compensation
Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald's (MCD), earns $12.0M in total compensation. This includes base salary, stock awards, option awards, and other incentives as reported in the company's most recent DEF 14A proxy statement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald's (MCD), earns $12.0M in total compensation. This includes base salary, stock awards, option awards, and other incentives as reported in the company's most recent DEF 14A proxy statement.
McDonald's has a Pay-for-Performance Score of C (55/100). The company's 3-year total shareholder return is +5.9%, and the say-on-pay shareholder vote passed with 86.8% approval.
The CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio at McDonald's is 429:1. The median worker at McDonald's earns $28K per year, while CEO Chris Kempczinski earns $12.0M in total compensation.
McDonald's employs approximately 150,000 people. The company operates in the Restaurants industry within the Consumer Discretionary sector, generating $25.5B in annual revenue.