Arcos Dorados opens 19 McDonald’s restaurants, boosts first-quarter profit

Nineteen more McDonald’s restaurants across Latin America and the Caribbean meant more hiring, more training days and more opening pressure on store managers, even as Arcos Dorados said its first-quarter 2026 profit improved. The world’s largest independent McDonald’s franchisee said the quarter ended March 31 and added that it has the exclusive right to own, operate and sub-franchise McDonald’s in 21 countries and territories.

For McDonald’s workers, that scale matters. Arcos Dorados and its sub-franchisees operated more than 2,500 restaurants and employed more than 100,000 people as of Dec. 31, 2025, making the company one of the clearest examples of how much the brand depends on franchise operators to execute the day-to-day business. McDonald’s says about 95% of its restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners, and that its system spans more than 44,000 locations in more than 100 countries.

The company’s recent run shows how growth changes the work inside stores. Arcos Dorados opened 102 restaurants in full-year 2025, including 48 in the fourth quarter, while reporting $4.7 billion in revenue, $575.2 million in adjusted EBITDA and $212.1 million in net income. It also said digital sales accounted for 61% of systemwide sales last year, and its loyalty program was live in more than 90% of restaurants with more than 27 million registered members. That kind of mix puts more pressure on crews to move fast, get orders right and handle a heavier flow of app-driven business, pickup traffic and promotions without slowing the line.

The first-quarter update also fits into a 2026 expansion plan that was already taking shape. Arcos Dorados said on Jan. 28 that it expected more restaurant openings and capital spending this year, then issued a clarification on expected first-quarter performance on Feb. 13 before its May 20 earnings release. In practice, that means more work for hiring managers, shift leaders and restaurant general managers, because every new unit needs a crew, a trainer, an opening schedule and a steady supply chain behind it.

For employees inside the system, the message is straightforward: a big franchise operator is not just a financial story, it is a labor story. When Arcos Dorados grows and posts better results, it reinforces how much McDonald’s depends on franchise groups that can recruit, train and run restaurants at scale. It also shows why advancement inside McDonald’s often comes through the franchise network, where the next promotion, opening and operating target can be tied directly to how well a local operator performs.