McDonald's US restaurant visits fall as cost of living bites

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 4 Nov, 13:04 · Archive

Visits to US McDonald's restaurants fell in the third quarter as customers struggled with higher living costs.

Traffic at US McDonald's restaurants fell during the third quarter as customers struggled with higher gas prices and the cost of living. Same-store sales at locations open at least a year fell 0.2 per cent in the July-September period, the first retreat for the Chicago burger chain since early 2025. Wall Street had expected a steeper 0.5 per cent drop.

McDonald's restored in-app deals and focused marketing on value during the quarter, which helped push same-store sales into positive territory in September. Third-quarter foot traffic fell 2.6 per cent across the entire US fast food sector, according to Revenue Management Solutions, a restaurant industry consultant.

Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said during an investor presentation: 'This is the environment that we're in right now. You have to be on your game and deliver that value. The pressure around cost of living isn't going away.' Globally, same-store sales rose 1.3 per cent in the same period. Strong sales in Germany and Australia helped offset weakness in France, which was rocked by protests that began in September. Revenue rose 1 per cent to $7.16 billion for the quarter, short of Wall Street expectations of $7.28 billion.

How it is being reported

• Visits to US McDonald's locations falls as customers struggle with the high cost of livingTraffic at U.S. McDonald’s restaurants fell during the third quarter as customers struggled with higher gas prices and the uncomfortably high cost of living.Clickorlando · 4 Nov, 12:22
• Visits to US McDonald's locations falls as customers struggle with the high cost of livingTraffic at U.S. McDonald’s restaurants fell during the third quarter as customers struggled with higher gas prices and the uncomfortably high cost of living.News4Jax · 4 Nov, 12:22

In this story: McDonald's · Chris Kempczinski · United States · Germany · Australia · France

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log