Just about everyone has consumed a McDonald’s hamburger at some point in their lives. The chain is perhaps the most ubiquitous fast-food restaurant out there, serving its famous Big Macs and Quarter Pounders to more to 63 million customers each and every day. With such a massive customer base, it’s safe to say that the fast-food behemoth has sold an unfathomable number of burgers since the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in 1940. But just how many burgers does the home of the Golden Arches sell in a single day?
While the company isn’t necessarily up front about its exact burger sales, Investing.com estimates that the company sells roughly 75 burgers per second across the thousands of McDonald’s locations around the world. This equates to 4,500 burgers a minute, 270,000 burgers an hour, and a whopping 6.48 million burgers per day. If you want to take things even further, we can also use this statistic to approximate that McDonald’s sells over 2.36 billion burgers in just one year — that’s a lot of beef! However, given that these numbers aren’t confirmed by McDonald’s, this number is merely an educated guess. Plus, the company’s burger sales likely fluctuate from day-to-day, so this daily figure could be much higher or lower in actuality. Either way, this massive estimate is nothing to scoff at, especially considering that McDonald’s doesn’t serve burgers during its breakfast hours.
What makes McDonald’s hamburgers so popular?
McDonald’s success and popularity can be traced to its affordability, convenience, and powerful brand recognition on a worldwide scale. Almost anyone can recognize the company’s iconic Golden Arches logo and understand what they’re getting themselves into when they set foot side a McDonald’s restaurant. The company currently operates about 34,000 restaurants in 118 countries, meaning that a Big Mac isn’t far away in just about any corner of the globe. And while these restaurants might have completely different surroundings, you can expect your burger to taste the same — a familiar constant no matter where you go. In addition, that burger is going to be ready fast, and probably won’t break the bank.
The McDonald’s marketing team also knows exactly how to leverage clever brand collaborations or even good old fashioned sales to its advantage. In recent years, the company has partnered with celebrities from across a wide range of demographics, creating special meal deals to help sell more hamburgers. Who can forget 2020’s Travis Scott Meal, featuring a Quarter Pounder with bacon, or the 2021 Saweetie Meal, which came with a Big Mac. Even when McDonald’s doesn’t have a specific celebrity partnership, the company’s app and rewards program regularly provides discounts and promotions — helping McDonald’s customers save money on their orders. This encourages them to keep coming back time and time again, and while they’re at it, purchasing, you guessed it, more burgers.
