McDonald’s CEO Ouster Order From SEC Creates Reporting Quandary

The SEC’s unprecedented finding that McDonald’s didn’t disclose enough information about a CEO firing is prompting questions about whether companies have sufficiently clear guidance on what to tell investors in similar situations.

The fast food giant deemed its 2019 firing of Steve Easterbrook—for having a relationship with a subordinate—as termination “without cause.” That allowed Easterbrook to leave with tens of millions of dollars in compensation that would’ve otherwise been forfeited, the SEC said.

McDonald’s decision to not publicly reveal more information about its exercised discretion violated federal securities law, the SEC said last week.

The finding is a novel interpretation ...