Similarly for McDonalds corporate often takes the surplus value & is increasingly the landlord too.
So McDonalds franchisees cant easily afford a payrise from profit margins but McDonalds as a whole most certainly can.
This is also why the restaurant industry minimum wage hikes havent meant any fewer restaurants anywhere.
Hm - interesting theory. The landlord does have some expenses, though: upkeep on the property and taxes, as well as some bit of "float" for times when the property is vacant. There's a definable "margin" there, too, but I wouldn't know where to look to find out what.
Not enough of one to make becoming a landlord a guaranteed way to earn an easy profit, or everyone would do it. Lack of startup capital wouldn't be an issue either—banks would be happy to front the cost if you can prove the venture will succeed well enough to pay them back with interest.
The flip side is like you said, companies raking in record profits with massive cash on hand. They could easily afford to share more with employees and would probably benefit from a happier and more invested work force. The stratification between C-level and everyone else is higher than it’s ever been.