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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
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12 Months Ended | ||||||||||||
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Dec. 31, 2011
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| NATURE OF BUSINESS | NATURE OF BUSINESS The Company franchises and operates McDonald’s restaurants in the global restaurant industry. All restaurants are operated either by the Company or by franchisees, including conventional franchisees under franchise arrangements, and foreign affiliates and developmental licensees under license agreements. |
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| CONSOLIDATION | CONSOLIDATION The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. Investments in affiliates owned 50% or less (primarily McDonald’s Japan) are accounted for by the equity method. In June 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued amendments to the guidance on variable interest entities and consolidation, codified in the Consolidation Topic of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). This guidance modifies the method for determining whether an entity is a variable interest entity as well as the methods permitted for determining the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity. In addition, this guidance requires ongoing reassessments of whether a company is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity and enhanced disclosures related to a company’s involvement with a variable interest entity. The Company adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2010. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its business relationships such as those with franchisees, joint venture partners, developmental licensees, suppliers, and advertising cooperatives to identify potential variable interest entities. Generally, these businesses qualify for a scope exception under the variable interest entity consolidation guidance. The Company has concluded that consolidation of any such entity is not appropriate for the periods presented. As a result, the adoption did not have any impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. |
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| ESTIMATES IN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | ESTIMATES IN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. |
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| REVENUE RECOGNITION | REVENUE RECOGNITION The Company’s revenues consist of sales by Company-operated restaurants and fees from franchised restaurants operated by conventional franchisees, developmental licensees and foreign affiliates. Sales by Company-operated restaurants are recognized on a cash basis. The Company presents sales net of sales tax and other sales-related taxes. Revenues from conventional franchised restaurants include rent and royalties based on a percent of sales with minimum rent payments, and initial fees. Revenues from restaurants licensed to foreign affiliates and developmental licensees include a royalty based on a percent of sales, and may include initial fees. Continuing rent and royalties are recognized in the period earned. Initial fees are recognized upon opening of a restaurant or granting of a new franchise term, which is when the Company has performed substantially all initial services required by the franchise arrangement. |
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| FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSLATION | FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSLATION Generally, the functional currency of operations outside the U.S. is the respective local currency. |
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| ADVERTISING COSTS | ADVERTISING COSTS Advertising costs included in operating expenses of Company-operated restaurants primarily consist of contributions to advertising cooperatives and were (in millions): 2011–$768.6; 2010–$687.0; 2009–$650.8. Production costs for radio and television advertising are expensed when the commercials are initially aired. These production costs, primarily in the U.S., as well as other marketing-related expenses included in selling, general & administrative expenses were (in millions): 2011–$74.4; 2010–$94.5; 2009–$94.7. In addition, significant advertising costs are incurred by franchisees through contributions to advertising cooperatives in individual markets. |
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| SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION | SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION Share-based compensation includes the portion vesting of all share-based awards granted based on the grant date fair value. |
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| PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT | PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT Property and equipment are stated at cost, with depreciation and amortization provided using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives: buildings–up to 40 years; leasehold improvements–the lesser of useful lives of assets or lease terms, which generally include option periods; and equipment–three to 12 years. |
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| GOODWILL | GOODWILL Goodwill represents the excess of cost over the net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets of acquired restaurant businesses. The Company’s goodwill primarily results from purchases of McDonald’s restaurants from franchisees and ownership increases in subsidiaries or affiliates, and it is generally assigned to the reporting unit expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination. If a Company-operated restaurant is sold within 24 months of acquisition, the goodwill associated with the acquisition is written off in its entirety. If a restaurant is sold beyond 24 months from the acquisition, the amount of goodwill written off is based on the relative fair value of the business sold compared to the reporting unit (defined as each individual country). The Company conducts goodwill impairment testing in the fourth quarter of each year or whenever an indicator of impairment exists. If an indicator of impairment exists (e.g., estimated earnings multiple value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value), the goodwill impairment test compares the fair value of a reporting unit, generally based on discounted future cash flows, with its carrying amount including goodwill. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is measured as the difference between the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill and the carrying amount of goodwill. Historically, goodwill impairment has not significantly impacted the consolidated financial statements. |
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| LONG-LIVED ASSETS | LONG-LIVED ASSETS Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment annually in the fourth quarter and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. For purposes of annually reviewing McDonald’s restaurant assets for potential impairment, assets are initially grouped together at a television market level in the U.S. and at a country level for each of the international markets. The Company manages its restaurants as a group or portfolio with significant common costs and promotional activities; as such, an individual restaurant’s cash flows are not generally independent of the cash flows of others in a market. If an indicator of impairment (e.g., negative operating cash flows for the most recent trailing 24-month period) exists for any grouping of assets, an estimate of undiscounted future cash flows produced by each individual restaurant within the asset grouping is compared to its carrying value. If an individual restaurant is determined to be impaired, the loss is measured by the excess of the carrying amount of the restaurant over its fair value as determined by an estimate of discounted future cash flows. Losses on assets held for disposal are recognized when management and the Board of Directors, as required, have approved and committed to a plan to dispose of the assets, the assets are available for disposal, the disposal is probable of occurring within 12 months, and the net sales proceeds are expected to be less than its net book value, among other factors. Generally, such losses relate to restaurants that have closed and ceased operations as well as other assets that meet the criteria to be considered “available for sale”. |
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| FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS | FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS The Company measures certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis, and certain non-financial assets and liabilities on a nonrecurring basis. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Fair value disclosures are reflected in a three-level hierarchy, maximizing the use of observable inputs and minimizing the use of unobservable inputs. The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability on the measurement date. The three levels are defined as follows:
Certain of the Company’s derivatives are valued using various pricing models or discounted cash flow analyses that incorporate observable market parameters, such as interest rate yield curves, option volatilities and currency rates, classified as Level 2 within the valuation hierarchy. Derivative valuations incorporate credit risk adjustments that are necessary to reflect the probability of default by the counterparty or the Company.
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| FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES | FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES The Company is exposed to global market risks, including the effect of changes in interest rates and foreign currency fluctuations. The Company uses foreign currency denominated debt and derivative instruments to mitigate the impact of these changes. The Company does not use derivatives with a level of complexity or with a risk higher than the exposures to be hedged and does not hold or issue derivatives for trading purposes. The Company documents its risk management objective and strategy for undertaking hedging transactions, as well as all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items. The Company’s derivatives that are designated as hedging instruments consist mainly of interest rate swaps, foreign currency forwards and foreign currency options. Interest rate swaps are entered into to manage the interest rate risk associated with the Company’s fixed and floating-rate borrowings. Foreign currency forwards and foreign currency options are entered into to mitigate the risk that forecasted foreign currency cash flows (such as royalties denominated in foreign currencies) will be adversely affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Certain foreign currency denominated debt is used, in part, to protect the value of the Company’s investments in certain foreign subsidiaries and affiliates from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The Company also enters into certain derivatives that are not designated as hedging instruments. The Company has entered into equity derivative contracts to hedge market-driven changes in certain of its supplemental benefit plan liabilities. Changes in the fair value of these derivatives are recorded in selling, general & administrative expenses together with the changes in the supplemental benefit plan liabilities. In addition, the Company uses foreign currency forwards to mitigate the change in fair value of certain foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities. Since these derivatives are not designated for hedge accounting, the changes in the fair value of these derivatives are recognized immediately in nonoperating (income) expense together with the currency gain or loss from the hedged balance sheet position. A portion of the Company’s foreign currency options (more fully described in the Cash Flow Hedging Strategy section) are undesignated as hedging instruments as the underlying foreign currency royalties are earned. All derivative instruments designated as hedging instruments are classified as fair value, cash flow or net investment hedges. All derivatives (including those not designated for hedge accounting) are recognized on the Consolidated balance sheet at fair value and classified based on the instruments’ maturity date. Changes in the fair value measurements of the derivative instruments are reflected as adjustments to other comprehensive income (OCI) and/or current earnings. |
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| INCOME TAX UNCERTAINTIES | INCOME TAX UNCERTAINTIES The Company, like other multi-national companies, is regularly audited by federal, state and foreign tax authorities, and tax assessments may arise several years after tax returns have been filed. Accordingly, tax liabilities are recorded when, in management’s judgment, a tax position does not meet the more likely than not threshold for recognition. For tax positions that meet the more likely than not threshold, a tax liability may be recorded depending on management’s assessment of how the tax position will ultimately be settled. The Company records interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits in the provision for income taxes. |
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| PER COMMON SHARE INFORMATION | PER COMMON SHARE INFORMATION Diluted earnings per common share is calculated using net income divided by diluted weighted-average shares. Diluted weighted-average shares include weighted-average shares outstanding plus the dilutive effect of share-based compensation calculated using the treasury stock method, of (in millions of shares): 2011–12.8; 2010–14.3; 2009–15.2. Stock options that were not included in diluted weighted-average shares because they would have been antidilutive were (in millions of shares): 2011–0.0; 2010–0.0; 2009–0.7. The Company has elected to exclude the pro forma deferred tax asset associated with share-based compensation in earnings per share. |
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| STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS | STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS The Company considers short-term, highly liquid investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents. |
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| SUBSEQUENT EVENTS | SUBSEQUENT EVENTS The Company evaluated subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There were no subsequent events that required recognition or disclosure except for the debt issuances in February 2012 (see Debt financing note). |