> Walmart and Target earn between three and four cents on the dollar; a typical McDonald’s franchise restaurant earns around six cents on the dollar before taxe

> Walmart and Target earn between three and four cents on the dollar; a typical McDonald’s franchise restaurant earns around six cents on the dollar before taxes, according to an analysis from Janney Capital Markets. Those numbers say nothing about how many cents on the dollar their retail employees currently cost. A cashier can easily check out thousands of dollars of merchandise an hour. I can virtually guarantee retailers pay more in credit card processing fees than they do for their retail employees. Of course, Target reflects this with their 5% Red Card. And many smaller retailers reflect this by either (a) not taking credit cards or (b) only taking certain cards.