• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI

2

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

1

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI

2

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Finance

Activist investors want to supersize McDonald’s stock

By
Stephen Gandel
Stephen Gandel
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Stephen Gandel
Stephen Gandel
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 18, 2015, 2:02 PM ET
New Consumer Survey Ranks McDonald's Hamburgers, KFC Chicken Worst Tasting
SAN RAFAEL, CA - JULY 02: A McDonald's double cheesburger sits on a tray at a McDonald's restaurant on July 2, 2014 in San Rafael, California. According to a reader survey conducted by Consumer Reports, McDonald's hamburgers were rated as the worst tasting. KFC chicken and Taco Bell tacos and burritos also rated at the bottom for worst taste. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Photograph by Justin Sullivan — Getty Images

McDonald’s has a new group of investors pulling up to its drive-thru window. And they may soon be ordering changes.

Recently, a number of shareholder activists—hedge funds that typically push for companies to make changes, like splitting off divisions or buying back stock—have been loading up on shares of the fast-food giant. On Friday, Jana Partners reported in a filing that it had bought 125,000 shares of McDonald’s (MCD) in the first quarter. The $11 billion hedge fund is run by Barry Rosenstein, who is one of the more aggressive shareholder activists. Last year, Jana won two board seats at drug store chain Walgreen, and it pressured PetSmart, along with another hedge fund, into selling itself to private equity firm BC Partners in one of the biggest deals of the year. Recently, Jana has bought a stake in Qualcomm, pushing for the telecommunications company to split off a chip division.

If Rosenstein does pick a fight with McDonald’s, he’ll have more than one not-so-silent partner. Also eyeing McDonald’s is Keith Meister, who runs Corvex Management. Corvex bought 205,000 shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter. Meister is a former right-hand man to Carl Icahn. But the activist who looks most likely to aggressively pursue McDonald’s is lesser known Larry Robbins. Robbins’ Glenview Capital bought 2.9 million shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter. Another hedge fund, Highfields Capital upped its stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter as well. That fund now owns nearly $1.4 billion worth of stock and options in the fast food chain.

McDonald’s has struggled lately (well documented by Fortune here). Its stock is down 5% in the past year and it has significantly lagged the market over the past three years. But it’s not clear what the activist play with McDonald’s might be. McDonald’s is already doing many of the things activists normally push for. Last year, the company said that it would return as much as $20 billion in cash to investors in the form of increased share buybacks and dividends. And it looks to be cutting costs and selling off assets. It also named a new CEO, Steve Easterbrook, in March. Earlier this month, Easterbrook announced a plan to reduce the company’s corporate overhead and sell off as many as 3,500 company-owned restaurants to franchisees. And the company only has $1.6 billion in cash, down $400 million in the first three months of the year alone, and $14 billion in debt, so it’s not clear it could boost buybacks.

Activist investors could push for McDonald’s to make a change to its real estate portfolio. Activists Stocks, a finance newsletter that follows shareholder activism, recently wrote that “the real value lies in getting the company to spin its real estate off” into a real estate investment trust or a REIT.

But it’s not clear how much of a boost that would offer McDonald’s shares. According to its latest 10-k, McDonald’s says it has nearly $25 billion in land and buildings. Just $6 billion of that is in actual land. The rest of that $25 billion is the approximate value of its buildings and equipment, like signs, which would have much less value to another owner. McDonald’s market cap is over $90 billion, so the company’s real estate would have to fetch considerably more on its own to make a difference to shareholders.

It looks likely that McDonald’s would fight an effort to force it to sell off its real estate. In the past, McDonald’s has said that owning its real estate “enables us to achieve restaurant performance levels that are among the highest in the industry,” though the later part of that is debatable at this point.

But the fact that activists are circling McDonald’s shows, once again, that hedge funds are willing to go after bigger and bigger targets. And the fact that McDonald’s shares are struggling could make it a viable target. Qualcomm, Jana’s other recent target, has a market cap of nearly $115 billion.

About the Author
By Stephen Gandel
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

Oil markets could be a month away from the moment of truth. Brace for a ‘non-linear’ price spike and panic buying, analysts warn
EnergyOil
Oil markets could be a month away from the moment of truth. Brace for a ‘non-linear’ price spike and panic buying, analysts warn
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
4 hours ago
lirr
EconomyRailroads
Spring Hamptons traffic nightmare as Long Island Rail Road workers go on strike
By Philip Marcelo, Nick Lichtenberg and The Associated PressMay 16, 2026
9 hours ago
delivery
Retailecommerce
Walmart’s upper hand over Amazon in the $1 trillion e-commerce race: 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a superstore
By Anne D'Innocenzio and The Associated PressMay 16, 2026
9 hours ago
milei
North AmericaInflation
Argentinians wage inflation strike on red meat sending beef consumption to 20-year low
By Clara Preve and The Associated PressMay 16, 2026
9 hours ago
tom
SuccessEntrepreneurs
Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio got a 15x return on a tech company most Americans have never heard of. He thinks his own industry is broken
By Nick LichtenbergMay 16, 2026
12 hours ago
bhaskar
Economydisruption
The prophet of the ‘Wired Belt’ says capitalism is finally eating itself
By Bhaskar ChakravortiMay 16, 2026
13 hours ago

Most Popular

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
AI
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
11 hours ago
Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that
Success
Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that
By Preston ForeMay 13, 2026
3 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
4 days ago
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z's entry-level job crisis
Future of Work
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z's entry-level job crisis
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
15 hours ago
Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 15, 2026
1 day ago
‘You’re not a hero, you’re a liability’: Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary warns Gen Z founders to stop glorifying hustle culture
Future of Work
‘You’re not a hero, you’re a liability’: Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary warns Gen Z founders to stop glorifying hustle culture
By Jacqueline MunisMay 16, 2026
11 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.