McDonald’s Satellite Franchise Cost & 2026 FDD Data
78/100
Strongest tier
78 this brand51 Quick-Service Restaurants medianlikely 58–98: narrower with more SBA loans (very low confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#232 of 3,068 graded brands
Why an A: Helped by financial health, scale, legal record and transparency. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $701K – $1.4M
- Avg gross sales
- not extracted
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from the FDD filing. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026 FDD
Per the 2026 FDD, a McDonald’s Satellite franchise requires a total initial investment of $701K – $1.4M, including a $500 franchise fee. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. Verdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2026 FDD · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low (issued within the last 12 months)
Evidence for the headline figures: thin✓ Investment (Item 7)✗ Item 19 status✗ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored3 of 3 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Quick-Service Restaurants median
Top edge: green = better than the Quick-Service Restaurants median by more than 10%, red = worse by more than 10%, gray = within 10% or no benchmark. Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a).
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Methodology
Bottom line
- RETURNSNo Item 19 gross sales figure is on file for this brand. We have not established what its FDD discloses.
- LEGAL25 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Of the 15 listed on this page, 15 name the franchisor or its predecessor. Pending claims are allegations, not findings.
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $137K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $211K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $845K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (4)
- 4 pending matters name the franchisor in Item 3 (litigation). Pending claims are allegations, not findings; for a system this size the score counts the legal record in the brand's favour. Read the matter in Item 3.
- The franchisor keeps the right to compete inside your territory (Item 12, territory).
- An owner must run the business personally (Item 15, owner participation). Ask whether a trained manager can ever stand in.
- Limited data: this page holds only part of the filing. Read the FDD itself before relying on any figure here.
Checked and clear: no auditor doubt that the franchisor can keep operating. Not on file here, so ask: unit trend, SBA charge-off rate against the category median, jury-trial waiver and supplier rebates.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: the franchisor must give it to you at least 14 days before you sign or pay. Or look it up in a state registry (Wisconsin, Minnesota, California). What to read first.
Step 2: Talk to current and former owners.
Free: Item 20 of the FDD lists every current owner and those who left last year, most with a phone number. Questions to ask.
Step 3: Talk to an SBA lender.
Free: the SBA's Lender Match. Ask what you would personally guarantee and what the monthly payment would be. If you plan to use retirement savings, ask a CPA about the rules for that first.
Step 4: Have a franchise attorney review the FDD and agreement.
Free: your state bar's lawyer referral service can name franchise lawyers, and many offer a short first consultation. Bring the checks listed above.
Research steps, not investment or legal advice.
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost (the Item 7 midpoint) is 2.2× the Quick-Service Restaurants median ($487K).
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask McDonald's USA, LLC (Item 1: 110 N. Carpenter Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
Full Item 7 breakdown7 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $0 | $500 | |
| Real Estate and Building - 3 Months' rent (Base Rent) | $0 | $65K | |
| Signs, Seating, Equipment, and Decor | $550K | $1.1M | |
| Opening Inventory | $14K | $45K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Expenses | $55K | $68K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Traveling | $2K | $43K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $80K | $140K | |
| Total initial investment | $701K | $1.4M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. The total row is the total as printed in Item 7. Actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 6 · what you pay once you are open
Ongoing fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Technology feesTechnology Platform cost of $165,000 to $265,000 included in Signs, Seating, Equipment and Decor line (Item 7 note 8) | See the list |
Items 6 (other fees), 7 (startup costs) and 19 (sales and earnings) · assumptions labeled
What you could make and lose: one unit
What one McDonald’s Satellite unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
How these figures are worked out
- Loan (assumption): 80% of the $1.1M Item 7 midpoint is a $845K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $137K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours.
What you put at risk
Your own cash in: about $211K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $1.1M Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $845K.
Personal guarantee. SBA 7(a) loans require a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20% or more of the business. If the unit cannot pay, the lender can collect from you personally, which can include your savings and your home. The worst case is losing the cash you put in and still owing the rest of the loan.
Gross sales are not profit, and none of these figures is take-home pay until tax and every operating cost are paid. The assumptions are ours, not the filing's. Not investment advice.
Returns modelOne unit · several units · editable
No Item 19 gross sales figure for McDonald’s Satellite is on file. The return models need one gross sales figure to start from, plus the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions; nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · one unit
What would one McDonald’s Satellite unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Not disclosed in Item 19. Enter your own gross sales assumption
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
No Item 19 figures are on file for this brand. Enter your own costs from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners.
Illustrative category typicals, not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Item 7 midpoint of $701K to $1.4M
Item 7's $80K to $140K additional funds are already in the total
Left after the loan payment · per year
The unit's EBITDA minus the assumed loan payment. Before tax, depreciation and any cost your inputs leave out (insurance, accounting and legal, licenses, technology fees): not take-home pay.
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies annual revenue, royalty rate, COGS, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $845K at 10.5% over 10 years, an assumption, not a quote. Return and payback are before tax, depreciation and the costs above. The loan usually needs your personal guarantee.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD · filed by McDonald's USA, LLC
Financial performance
We have not established what this franchisor's Item 19 says. The FDD on file either has no locatable Item 19 or could not be read, so no figure is published here.
Item 19 covers the parent format. The filing's Item 19 groups describe McDonald’s, not this format, so they are printed on the McDonald’s page.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How McDonald’s Satellite compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
System figures: see McDonald’s
System figures: see McDonald’s
Government records
SBA loan data
Matched to this brand from SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What are the risks?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Verdict grade + FDD Items 3 (litigation), 4 (bankruptcy), 8 (required suppliers), 16 (what you may sell), 21 (audited financials)
Risk and legal
Grade A: Strongest tier, 78/100 (category median 51); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why an A, factor by factor
- Financial health HelpsAudited financials; no going-concern doubt; statements are the parent's, so this stays near neutral
- Unit economics NeutralNo Item 19 sales figure to set against the investment, so neutral
- Unit growth NeutralNo Item 20 trend on file, so neutral
- Scale HelpsFranchising since 1955
- Legal Helps15 matters naming the franchisor among the Item 3 matters we list
- Transparency HelpsItem 19 status not confirmed (neither credit nor penalty); audited financials
From the six scored dimensions, an editorial assessment, not investment advice. How the score is built
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
3 pending federal putative class actions (breach of franchise agreement/CUTPA, E. coli/Quarter Pounder product liability class action, McRib deceptive marketing class action) plus numerous ongoing joint-employer labor/employment suits; 17 concluded matters since 2007 including franchisee discrimination/termination settlements (up to $33.5M), a 2023 SEC administrative settlement re: Easterbrook severance disclosures (no penalty), PFAS packaging settlement, and various consumer class action settlements ($2,500 to $15.6M range plus a $19M supplier-related settlement in May 2025).
Largest disclosed settlement in the franchisor's own cases: $33,500,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
The revenue figures are in the Franchisor tab, under The franchisor.
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
FY2025 revenues from consolidated statement of income: Sales by Company-owned/operated restaurants $3,115M; Revenues from franchised restaurants $7,371M (total revenue $10,486M shown before other line items); Net income $3,579M.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results; the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
System figures: see McDonald’s
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Allowed renewals | 0 |
|---|---|
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territory | No |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Who runs it (Item 15) | Owner must run it |
| Non-compete (years) | 1.5 years |
| Non-compete (miles) | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Governing law | Illinois |
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Technology Platform
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Franchisee contacts
We hold no owner list for this brand. Item 20 of the FDD lists the current and former owners; the free FDD is the source.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a McDonald’s Satellite franchise?
Per the 2026 FDD, the total investment to open a McDonald’s Satellite franchise ranges from $701K to $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $500. This is the Item 7 total in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): the startup costs the franchisor lists, such as build-out, equipment, inventory and working capital. It usually leaves out buying land or a building; Item 7's notes say what is excluded.
What do McDonald’s Satellite franchise owners earn?
No average owner earnings figure for McDonald’s Satellite is on file. Item 19, where a franchisor may disclose what its outlets earn, is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and we have not established what this brand's FDD says. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns McDonald’s Satellite?
McDonald’s Satellite is franchised by McDonald's USA, LLC. Its parent company is McDonald's Corporation. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the McDonald’s Satellite FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the McDonald’s Satellite FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is McDonald’s Satellite's franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate, and McDonald’s Satellite has too few resolved SBA 7(a) loans on file (fewer than 10) to show an SBA charge-off rate that would mean anything. The SBA charge-off rate is the share of a brand's resolved SBA 7(a) loans to its franchisees that the SBA wrote off, including purchased guarantees. Resolved means paid in full or charged off; active loans are excluded because their outcome is not yet known. It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses. Review the turnover and closure figures in Item 20 of the FDD and speak with current and former franchisees.
Is McDonald’s Satellite a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives McDonald’s Satellite an A Verdict grade (Strongest tier) with a verdict score of 78 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Helped by financial health (audited financials), scale, legal record and transparency. The “Why an A” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
Other Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Similar investment first, then by grade
This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.