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

Trendingnow

1

Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium

2

'The first time ever in my career': Senior Citi executive on why the ultrawealthy want to diversify away from America

3

Americans are quietly abandoning the daily habit that billionaires say set them up for success—and it could have lasting consequences

1

Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium

2

'The first time ever in my career': Senior Citi executive on why the ultrawealthy want to diversify away from America

3

Americans are quietly abandoning the daily habit that billionaires say set them up for success—and it could have lasting consequences
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
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

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
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

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

A Trump Account could make your kid a millionaire by 45—but financial experts say the app’s projections come with a catch
Personal FinanceDonald Trump
A Trump Account could make your kid a millionaire by 45—but financial experts say the app’s projections come with a catch
By Sydney LakeJuly 12, 2026
26 minutes ago
Photo: James Murdoch
Big TechJames Murdoch
James Murdoch may have reaped as much as $7.5 billion from his pre-IPO investment in Elon Musk’s SpaceX
By Jim EdwardsJuly 12, 2026
57 minutes ago
sam
Cryptobooks
A Yale professor says America is now an ‘oldigarchy’—and Boomers on LinkedIn are enraged
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 12, 2026
58 minutes ago
Trump’s time is running out to avoid a nightmare Strait of Hormuz scenario
EnergyIran
Trump’s time is running out to avoid a nightmare Strait of Hormuz scenario
By Jordan BlumJuly 12, 2026
4 hours ago
3 reasons Bitcoin is stuck in a bear market—and why one analyst predicts a rebound to $100,000 by year-end
CryptoBitcoin
3 reasons Bitcoin is stuck in a bear market—and why one analyst predicts a rebound to $100,000 by year-end
By Camila Grigera NaónJuly 12, 2026
4 hours ago
The U.S. and Iran can’t agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
Middle EastIran
The U.S. and Iran can’t agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
By Jason MaJuly 11, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium
Environment
Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 10, 2026
2 days ago
'The first time ever in my career': Senior Citi executive on why the ultrawealthy want to diversify away from America
Banking
'The first time ever in my career': Senior Citi executive on why the ultrawealthy want to diversify away from America
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 11, 2026
24 hours ago
Americans are quietly abandoning the daily habit that billionaires say set them up for success—and it could have lasting consequences
Success
Americans are quietly abandoning the daily habit that billionaires say set them up for success—and it could have lasting consequences
By Preston ForeJuly 11, 2026
1 day ago
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts
Success
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts
By Emma BurleighJuly 9, 2026
3 days ago
The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
Middle East
The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
By Jason MaJuly 11, 2026
12 hours ago
U.S. Treasury has borrowed $155 billion every month of this fiscal year—and is now paying $24 billion a week in interest on its debts
Economy
U.S. Treasury has borrowed $155 billion every month of this fiscal year—and is now paying $24 billion a week in interest on its debts
By Eleanor PringleJuly 10, 2026
2 days 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.