Cash & Equivalents
McDonald's Cash & Equivalents increased by 51.2% to $1.17B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric declined by 5.5%, from $1.24B to $1.17B. Over 5 years (FY 2020 to FY 2025), Cash & Equivalents shows a downward trend with a -25.8% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
Higher levels indicate strong liquidity and ability to cover short-term obligations, while lower levels may signal tight cash flow or aggressive capital deployment.
Detailed definition
This includes highly liquid assets such as cash on hand, bank deposits, and short-term investments with original maturit...
Peer comparison
Standard across all industries; peers maintain varying levels based on their specific working capital cycles and debt maturity profiles.
cash_and_equivalentsHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $3.05B | $4.31B | $4.71B | $2.34B | $1.87B | $2.83B | $2.58B | $3.71B | $1.63B | $3.5B | $4.58B | $838M | $792M | $1.22B | $1.09B | $1.24B | $1.88B | $2.41B | $774M | $1.17B |
| QoQ Change | — | +41.2% | +9.4% | -50.4% | -19.8% | +51.0% | -8.6% | +43.5% | -56.1% | +115.0% | +31.0% | -81.7% | -5.5% | +54.2% | -11.1% | +14.1% | +51.5% | +28.6% | -67.9% | +51.2% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -38.6% | -34.3% | -45.1% | +58.8% | -13.2% | +23.6% | +77.2% | -77.4% | -51.3% | -65.1% | -76.3% | +47.7% | +136.9% | +97.6% | -28.7% | -5.5% |
Cash & Equivalents at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is McDonald's's cash & equivalents?
- McDonald's (MCD) reported cash & equivalents of $1.17B in Q1 2026.
- How has McDonald's's cash & equivalents changed year-over-year?
- McDonald's's cash & equivalents decreased by 5.5% year-over-year, from $1.24B to $1.17B.
- What is the long-term trend for McDonald's's cash & equivalents?
- Over 5 years (2020 to 2025), McDonald's's cash & equivalents has grown at a -25.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $3.45B to $774M.
- What does cash & equivalents mean?
- The total amount of cash and highly liquid short-term investments held by the company.