Burger King vs McDonald’s: Which NNN Investment Wins?

McDonald’s versus Burger King is a long-running rivalry in fast food, but in net lease the two are not really competitors: they sit on opposite sides of the investment grade line. McDonald’s Corporation is rated BBB+/Baa1 (S&P / Moody’s), and the McDonald’s listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks ask a median cap rate of 4.00%. Restaurant Brands International, Burger King’s parent, is rated BB+ by S&P, below the BBB- investment grade cutoff, and Burger King listings ask a median of 6.25%. The gap between those asking medians, 225 basis points, mixes differences in parent credit, who signs the lease, lease structure and the real estate itself, and a comparison of medians cannot show how much each contributes. Whether the higher asking cap rate is worth it depends on the buyer and the specific lease.

This comparison follows the sequence our investment grade guide recommends: rating and obligor first, then lease structure, then real estate. The two brands diverge at every step.

Burger King vs McDonald’s: Head-to-Head Comparison

Ratings per our tenant ratings database; the Burger King rating is that of its parent, Restaurant Brands International. Restaurant counts and McDonald’s revenue from the companies’ 2025 Form 10-K filings. Cap rates are live medians across active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks with an asking cap rate, computed the same way and from the same data for both brands (latest listing updates: McDonald’s October 16, 2026, Burger King October 19, 2026); asking cap rates are not closing cap rates. Ground lease flags come from listing descriptions, not reviewed leases or title records; a listing not flagged as a ground lease is not thereby confirmed as fee simple.

Credit Rating: The Benchmark vs the Challenger

McDonald’s is an investment grade QSR credit in net lease. It is rated BBB+/Baa1. With $26.9 billion of 2025 revenue and more than 45,000 restaurants, about 95% of them franchised, McDonald’s earns much of its income as a landlord and franchisor. The full analysis is on the McDonald’s credit rating and cap rate page.

Burger King’s parent is a high-yield credit: S&P rates RBI BB+. RBI says Burger King’s “Reclaim the Flame” plan includes investing up to $700 million through year-end 2028, and RBI acquired Carrols Restaurant Group on May 16, 2024; at year-end 2025 RBI operated 1,005 former Carrols Burger King restaurants, most of which it expects to refranchise (RBI 2025 Form 10-K). Details are on the Burger King credit rating and cap rate page, and both sit in context in our credit tenant ratings database.

Cap Rates: Reading the Gap

Live asking cap rates for Burger King, McDonald’s and comparable tenants:

Active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks with an asking cap rate (stated in the listing, or computed from its stated income and price when no rate is stated), listings last observed October 19, 2026. Asking cap rates are not closed-sale cap rates. The middle half is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile of listings. The 10-year Treasury yield is 5.24% as of October 1, 2026 (FRED series DGS10). Ratings are the agency ratings in our ratings database for the entity shown, which may be a parent company; the rating type (for example issuer, senior unsecured debt, long-term debt or revenue bond ratings) varies by company and is shown on each tenant page. A rating applies to a lease only if the rated entity signs or guarantees it, so confirm the tenant and any guarantor in the lease. n/a means no verified rating is on file.

In a McDonald’s ground lease, the investor owns the land and the tenant owns and maintains the building; listings often describe the lease as absolute NNN with periodic rent increases. That structure reduces routine landlord obligations, but it does not remove risk: tenant default, lease enforcement, the value of the site if McDonald’s leaves, and illiquidity all remain, and franchisee-only McDonald’s leases carry a different credit entirely.

Burger King listings ask a median cap rate of 6.25%. Compared with McDonald’s, they come with a high-yield parent credit, a tenant that is often a franchisee, and fewer listings flagged as ground leases, along with different locations and remaining terms. The median gap combines these differences, so it is not a measure of the price of credit alone; underwrite each Burger King lease on its own tenant, guarantor, term and site.

Lease Structure: Ground Lease Program vs Obligor Spectrum

McDonald’s is a major real estate owner: at year-end 2025 it owned about 56% of the land and 80% of the buildings for restaurants in its consolidated markets (2025 Form 10-K). Base terms and rent increases vary by lease, and the tenant can be a McDonald’s corporate entity or a franchisee. The diligence trap: some listings are franchisee-only leases where McDonald’s Corporation has no obligation to the landlord, and those are not comparable investments despite the identical sign. Confirm the tenant and any guarantor in the lease.

Burger King lease terms and rent schedules vary by lease. RBI reported 7,025 Burger King restaurants in the US and Canada at year-end 2025, most of them franchised (RBI 2025 Form 10-K). A lease backed by a Burger King corporate entity carries that entity’s credit; franchisee leases carry whatever the operator’s balance sheet supports, so operator-level underwriting is required on every deal.

The Bond-to-NNN Pivot

McDonald’s is a major investment grade bond issuer, so a comparison is possible. On August 18, 2025 it priced 5.000% notes due February 13, 2036 at 99.527% of face to yield 5.059% to maturity, 72 basis points over the benchmark Treasury, which yielded 4.339% (pricing term sheet filed with the SEC). The 10-year Treasury yield was 5.24% on October 1, 2026 (FRED series DGS10). As a hypothetical scenario only, if those notes were priced at the same 72 basis point spread over a 5.24% Treasury yield, their yield to maturity would be about 5.96%; that is not a market quote, and yield to maturity is not the same as cash income, which on these notes is the 5.000% coupon on face value. Compare that scenario with the live median McDonald’s asking cap rate of 4.00%, the ratio of a listing’s net operating income to its asking price, not a closed-sale yield. A ground lease can offer rent increases written into the lease, ownership of the land and, for real property held for investment or business use, possible 1031 exchange treatment (26 U.S.C. 1031(a)(1)); note that a land-only ground lease offers no building depreciation (land is not depreciable under Treas. Reg. 1.167(a)-2), so the depreciation available on a fee simple building does not apply here (general information, not tax advice). The full analysis is in McDonald’s Bonds vs NNN Real Estate.

Burger King offers no investment grade bond comparison: RBI’s rating is below investment grade, and Burger King leases are often signed by franchisees rather than RBI, so a bond comparison is less direct.

Verdict: It Depends on the Buyer and the Lease

The two brands answer different questions, and the actual lease matters as much as the logo. A McDonald’s lease signed or guaranteed by McDonald’s Corporation ties the rent to an investment grade credit and, on a ground lease, leaves the building with the tenant; a franchisee-only McDonald’s lease does not carry that credit. A Burger King lease comes with a high-yield parent credit and a tenant that is often a franchisee, so the operator’s finances, any guaranty and the site carry more of the risk. In our data, Burger King listings ask a median cap rate of 6.25% versus 4.00% for McDonald’s.

Which fits depends on the buyer’s objectives, such as credit quality, current income, term and exchange timing, and on the tenant, guarantor, remaining term, rent schedule, location and price verified for the specific property. Neither brand settles the choice on its own.