There's no denying McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) is king of the fast-food industry. Not only has the company clearly mastered the art and science of quick-service restaurants, but with more than 42,000 stores each doing on the order of $3 million in sales per year, it's also the biggest name in the business. It's made for a rewarding long-term investment as well.

No great company is guaranteed to thrive forever, however. Indeed, it's possible the very things that once made a company great will eventually turn into liabilities.

That's arguably where McDonald's is now. For decades it pulled ahead of its competition by being the premier name in restaurant franchises. Now, though, its once-fruitful relationships with franchisees are strained to the point of becoming problematic. Two specific tensions serve as evidence of the company's deeper-seeded challenges even if their risk isn't readily evident.

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Source Fool.com