ARGENTINA · BUSINESS · ENERGY
Key Facts
- The country YPF is Argentina’s biggest oil company, and the state has controlled it since 2012.
- What happened On Thursday 22 October 2026, YPF opens the first McDonald’s inside one of its gas stations, in Vicente López, a suburb of Buenos Aires.
- The partner Arcos Dorados, the company that runs McDonald’s restaurants across Latin America, signed the deal with YPF in June 2026.
- The formats The deal allows three models: a separate restaurant, one sharing the dining room of YPF’s Full store, or one with its own service area.
- The numbers YPF’s chief executive says the company’s own hamburger sales rose from 600,000 to 900,000 a month.
- Listings YPF and Arcos Dorados both have shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
- Power Index Argentina ranks 4th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 61.2 points (October 2026 edition).
The first YPF McDonald’s opens on Thursday 22 October 2026, inside a gas station of Argentina’s state-controlled oil company. It is at Avenida del Libertador 901 in Vicente López, a suburb north of Buenos Aires.
For US readers, YPF and the McDonald’s operator Arcos Dorados are both listed in New York, so the opening tests a retail bet. YPF chief executive Horacio Marín calls the burger a service for drivers, not a big profit line.
What Opened in Vicente López
The first YPF McDonald’s sits inside a YPF Full store, the company’s shop and café, at Avenida del Libertador and Melo. McDonald’s Argentina announced the opening for 3 p.m. on Thursday and invited neighbors through local shops.
Argentine trade site Surtidores calls it the first McDonald’s inside a YPF Full store and the first concrete result of the alliance. Marín had said in August that the site would be a YPF Black station, the company’s premium format.
Why the YPF McDonald’s Matters to the Company
Marín says the YPF McDonald’s is an added service, so a family can buy a Happy Meal and fill the tank in one stop. In his words, “that is the game”, and he admits YPF may earn a little less than on its own hamburger.
He puts YPF’s own hamburger sales at 900,000 a month, up from 600,000. The company treats its stations as its main point of contact with consumers and wants them to earn money beyond fuel.
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How the YPF McDonald’s Deal Works
Marín and Woods Staton, executive chairman of Arcos Dorados, signed the alliance at YPF Tower in Buenos Aires in June 2026. The YPF McDonald’s can stand beside the Full store or inside it, with a shared dining room or its own service area.
Every format can include AutoMac, the drive-through lane. Staton called the alliance a chance to combine the strength of two well-established brands, in the company’s own press release.
Who Is Arcos Dorados
Arcos Dorados is the company that operates McDonald’s restaurants in Argentina and across Latin America. Its press release says it has 2,500 restaurants in 21 countries and territories and employs more than 100,000 people.
The company marks the 40th anniversary of McDonald’s in Argentina this year. Its latest quarterly results are covered in the Rio Times report on Arcos Dorados’ record US$1.3 billion quarter.
What It Means for US Readers
The YPF McDonald’s is a bet that holders of YPF’s New York shares can earn more from each customer, not only from fuel. The company also faces a US Supreme Court fight over a voided US$16.1 billion judgment, which hangs over the stock.
For Arcos Dorados investors, the deal opens a new way to reach drivers in Argentina, its home market. Readers can find the background in a guide to the YPF oil group and its investor profile.
What Is Not Known
Neither company has said how many more stations will get a YPF McDonald’s, or when the next one will open. The alliance announcement gave no investment figure and no sales target.
YPF has not said how much it pays or earns from each restaurant. It is also unclear how many Full stores the company runs across Argentina.
More: Argentina news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the first YPF station with a McDonald’s?
It is at Avenida del Libertador 901 in Vicente López, a suburb north of Buenos Aires. It opens on Thursday 22 October 2026.
Who runs the McDonald’s inside the YPF station?
Arcos Dorados runs it, as the company that operates McDonald’s restaurants across Latin America. YPF supplies the station and its Full store.
Will more YPF stations get a McDonald’s?
The alliance covers stations across Argentina, but neither company has named the next sites. The first restaurant is the first concrete result of the deal.
Can US investors buy YPF and Arcos Dorados?
Both companies have shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange, so US investors can buy them through a normal brokerage account. This article is not investment advice.
Why does an oil company sell hamburgers?
YPF wants its stations to earn money from more than fuel, so it adds food, coffee and shops. Marín says the burger is an extra service that keeps drivers and families coming back.
Sources: Surtidores, De la hamburguesa al surtidor: hoy YPF inaugura su primer McDonald’s en Argentina, 22 October 2026; Zona Norte Diario, Vicente López: este jueves inauguran la primera YPF con McDonald’s del país, 21 October 2026; Arcos Dorados, press release on the alliance with YPF, June 2026 (press release PDF); Infobae, YPF empezará a vender hamburguesas de McDonald’s, 23 June 2026; La Nación, Horacio Marín: su estrategia plata o mierda y en qué YPF estará el primer McDonald’s, 19 August 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief