Arcos Dorados Holdings

ARCO

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. owns the master franchise of the fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s in 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is the largest McDonald’s franchisee in the world in terms of system-wide sales and number of restaurants. As of December 31, 2010, it represented 6.7% of McDonald's franchised restaurants globally. It has more than 94,000 employees, being one of the region's leading employers of young, first-time job holders. It serves more than 4.3 million customers daily and is the largest quick service restaurant (QSR) chain in Latin America and the Caribbean.The company operates its McDonald’s-branded restaurants as company-operated restaurants and franchised restaurants. Company revenues depend on sales made by company-operated restaurants and rental income from franchised restaurants. The rental income depends on the greater of a flat fee or a percentage of sales.

Arcos Dorados Holdings has been a target of short sellers for a while. The current short interest of 2.28% is roughly at the average of the last 12 months (3.22%).