McDonald’s Corporation (MCD)

Return on total capital

		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 interest and tax (EBIT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	11,883,000	11,669,600	11,247,800	9,800,600	9,032,400	8,774,000	8,916,700	9,889,500	10,313,700	10,049,200	9,591,300	7,886,600	7,358,800	7,529,700	7,435,300	8,759,500	9,140,000	8,835,700	8,811,700	8,778,000
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	37,152,900	37,274,600	35,710,100	36,603,700	35,903,500	34,866,200	34,576,500	33,988,800	35,622,700	34,628,000	34,922,600	34,823,200	35,196,800	35,143,400	34,675,600	38,046,600	34,118,100	32,850,100	32,654,300	32,892,000
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	-4,706,700	-4,854,800	-4,999,100	-5,776,100	-6,003,400	-6,566,200	-6,369,800	-5,990,800	-4,601,000	-5,675,000	-5,808,000	-7,235,500	-7,824,900	-8,472,100	-9,463,100	-9,293,400	-8,210,300	-8,599,200	-6,808,800	-6,550,900
Return on total capital		36.62%	36.00%	36.62%	31.79%	30.21%	31.00%	31.61%	35.32%	33.25%	34.71%	32.94%	28.59%	26.88%	28.23%	29.49%	30.46%	35.28%	36.43%	34.09%	33.32%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Return on total capital = EBIT (ttm) ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $11,883,000K ÷ ($37,152,900K + $-4,706,700K)
= 36.62%

McDonald's Corp's return on total capital has been relatively stable over the past eight quarters, ranging from 33.14% to 37.13%. This indicates that the company has been effectively utilizing its total capital to generate profits. The gradual decline in return on total capital from Q2 2022 to Q1 2023 may suggest a slight decrease in the efficiency of capital allocation during this period. However, the overall trend remains positive, with the return on total capital consistently above 33%, indicating strong financial performance and effective management of resources.