In 2005 McDonald's net profit margin was ~12%, today it's ~30+%. Obviously that doesn't account for the entire price increase and wouldn't make that much of a difference...but worth noting.
But there are many factors. Allowing stock buybacks is definitely one of those.
If I'm reading this chart right they're spending about $500M/quarter on buybacks? https://www.financecharts.com/stocks/MCD/cash-flow/repurchas...
and it's not the executives, it's the owners. those on the board, or who own a ton of shares.
stock price doesn't go up and those execs get replaced until they find someone who will.
It’s a commercial real estate company with extra steps, not a restaurant company. Once you understand that, McDonalds net margins are easier to understand.
Google ‘McDonalds real estate’ for a longer write up about the business model of McDonalds