That possibility is that McDonald's could double its restaurant-worker wages and not increase its prices at all ... but instead just make a little less money. In other words, it could better balance the interests of all three of its stakeholders ; shareholders, customers, and employees; instead of shafting employees to deliver as much profit as possible to shareholders.
According to the Kansas City researcher who did the original wages-to-Big Mac study, McDonald's spends about 17% of U.S. revenue on employee salaries and benefits.
If that ratio holds true worldwide, McDonald's would have spent about $4.7 billion on salaries and benefits last year, on revenue of $27 billion. Meanwhile, the company made about $8.5 billion of operating (This is for the corporate parent, not the franchises.).
If McDonald's doubled the wages of its restaurant employees (not management, which is presumably very well-compensated), it might add, say, another $3 billion of annual expenses. This would knock its operating profit down to a still healthy $5.5 billion.
Importantly, however, $5.5 billion is still a lot of money. McDonald's would still be very profitable.
Big Macs would still cost the same as they do today (billions and billions would still be served!)
McDonald's managers would still take home their impressive salaries.
And McDonald's restaurant employees would, finally, rise above the poverty line. And their extra spending money would quickly be spent on other products and services, thus helping the whole
By paying these higher wages, McDonald's would also be able to hire the best restaurant workers in the whole economy, thus presumably improving the McDonald's experience for customers and reducing turnover and retraining costs.
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