It's been a great past few months for McDonald's top executives, and things are about to get even better starting next month once the top brass receives its pay raises, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
With the pay raise, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook is set to receive an 18.2 percent raise in his base salary to $1.3 million, CFO Kevin Ozan would get a 16.7 percent raise to $700,000, and Doug Goare, president of international lead markets, would get a 10.2 percent raise to $650,000, according to The Chicago Tribune.
Though these numbers are high, they only apply to each of the afrementioned executives base pay and only amount to a small portion of their annual earnings. On top of their salary, the three also receive stock awards and perks that range from anything such as insurance to the use of a company jet or car. For comparison, former CEO Don Thompson's total compensation was $7.3 million, but that only represents half of what he was paid during his first year as CEO in 2012.
The pay increase will mark the one-year-anniversary of Easterbrook's time as CEO, and it also comes as McDonald's has enjoyed several months of continued success - due heavily to his influence. One key initiative behind McDonald's success has been the October launch of the all-day breakfast menu. Through that change, among others, McDonald's has seen improved customer traffic and its stock rising to an all-time high.
As a testament to its current success, the burger chain announced in January that sales at U.S. restaurants open at least 13 months rose 5.7 percent, beating Wall Street estimates of 2.7 percent.
Though things are looking up for execs, everything remains the same for the employees who aren't receiving a dime. Critics in the past have accused McDonald's of giving its executives massive pay raises while arguing that it can't afford to give its workforce a raise. Though they have been silent thus far, the development is sure to come under scrutiny once it becomes wider knowledge. Due to this continued practice, critics often refer to McDonald's as the "golden arches with golden parachutes."
