McDonald’s Corporation (MCD)

Pretax margin

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	10,522,200	10,346,100	9,958,800	8,551,200	7,825,400	7,594,300	7,749,500	8,716,400	9,127,900	8,850,100	8,375,800	6,648,500	6,140,700	6,337,500	6,272,600	7,631,700	8,018,100	7,742,700	7,749,200	7,759,500
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	25,493,700	25,014,000	24,193,900	23,414,800	23,182,600	23,265,200	23,594,400	23,763,900	23,222,900	22,527,600	21,744,400	19,618,000	19,207,800	19,243,000	19,327,200	20,975,500	21,285,200	21,099,200	20,966,300	20,910,400
Pretax margin		41.27%	41.36%	41.16%	36.52%	33.76%	32.64%	32.84%	36.68%	39.31%	39.29%	38.52%	33.89%	31.97%	32.93%	32.45%	36.38%	37.67%	36.70%	36.96%	37.11%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $10,522,200K ÷ $25,493,700K
= 41.27%

The pretax margin of McDonald's Corp has shown a positive trend over the quarters, reaching 41.27% in Q4 2023 compared to 36.52% in Q1 2023. This indicates that the company has been able to improve its efficiency in generating profits before taxes on each dollar of revenue. The pretax margin has also significantly increased compared to the same quarter in the previous year, with Q4 2023 showing a 7.51 percentage point improvement over Q4 2022. This improvement suggests that McDonald's has been managing its operational costs effectively, resulting in higher profitability. Additionally, the pretax margin has consistently been above 30% in recent quarters, indicating strong performance in controlling expenses and maximizing profitability.