McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) executives told investors the company exited 2025 with “strong momentum” and reiterated plans to accelerate restaurant growth and lean on a “three for three” playbook of value, marketing, and menu innovation in 2026.
Systemwide sales growth and expanding footprint
CEO Chris Kempczinski said McDonald’s generated nearly $140 billion in 2025 systemwide sales, up 5.5% in constant currency. He attributed the performance to comparable sales growth of more than 3% for the year and more than 5.5% in the fourth quarter, plus the benefit of faster unit expansion.
Fourth-quarter results: comps, marketing lifts, and value progress
CFO Ian Borden said global comparable sales rose 5.7% in the fourth quarter with positive comparable guest counts. In the U.S., comparable sales increased 6.8%, which Borden said exceeded expectations and was driven by positive check and guest count growth. He noted some benefit from easier comparisons but emphasized that value, menu, and marketing initiatives supported “steady improvement” in baseline momentum.
Borden highlighted two marketing drivers in the U.S. during the quarter: Monopoly and the Grinch Meal. He said Monopoly produced one of the company’s largest digital customer acquisition events, with roughly 46 million 90-day active U.S. loyalty users and nearly 500 million games played during the promotion. He said the Grinch Meal set new sales records, including the highest single sales day in company history, and that the overall campaign sold nearly as many meals as the 2025 Minecraft Movie Meal and 2024 Collector Cups promotions combined.
On value, management said the U.S. McValue platform launched early in 2025 and Extra Value Meals (EVM) were relaunched in September. Kempczinski said EVM’s fourth-quarter performance met internal expectations, citing share gains with low-income consumers in December and a “meaningful increase” in value and affordability scores. Borden added that EVM supported higher units sold for top meal combinations, including nationally price-pointed offers such as a $5 Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles Meal and an $8 10-piece Chicken McNuggets meal in November, with January support behind a $5 Sausage McMuffin with Egg Meal and an $8 Two-Stack Wrap Meal.
When asked about margins and value architecture, management said the approach requires both “predictable” everyday value via EVM and sharper, price-pointed items that rotate through the menu. Borden also said stronger top-line growth supports margin performance, adding that U.S. owner-operator average cash flow increased year over year.
International performance and China development
In international operated markets, comparable sales rose 5.2% in the quarter, marking a third consecutive quarter above 4%, according to Borden. He cited mid- to high-single-digit growth in the U.K., Germany, and Australia, and said the U.K. posted market share gains for the first time in more than a year amid promotions including the Grinch campaign and “Menu Heist,” a version of Taste of the World. Borden said McDonald’s plans to expand Menu Heist to more markets in 2026. Germany’s quarter included the return of the Big Rösti and a Friends-themed campaign that the company also plans to expand to additional markets in 2026.
International developmental licensed markets posted 4.5% comparable sales growth, led by Japan. Borden said Japan benefited in part from the launch of the My McDonald’s Rewards loyalty program. In China, he said macro pressures continued but the company maintained share and opened more than 1,000 restaurants in 2025, with a presence now in every province.
2026 outlook: openings, margins, CapEx, and early-quarter headwinds
Borden said McDonald’s expects net restaurant expansion in 2026, plus restaurants opened in 2025, to contribute about 2.5% to systemwide sales growth. The company expects operating margin to be in the mid- to high-40% range and to expand from the 46.9% adjusted operating margin posted in 2025. For 2026, McDonald’s is targeting G&A at roughly 2.2% of systemwide sales as it invests in technology, digital capabilities, and global business services.
Below the operating line, Borden said interest expense is expected to rise 4% to 6% year over year due to higher average rates, with an effective tax rate between 21% and 23%. He also said foreign currency is expected to be a tailwind of $0.20 to $0.30 to 2026 EPS based on current exchange rates.
On development, Borden said the company is targeting approximately 2,600 gross openings in 2026, including about 750 in the U.S. and international operated markets and more than 1,800 in developmental licensed markets—about 1,000 of those in China. Management anticipates roughly 4.5% unit growth from about 2,100 net new restaurants in 2026.
McDonald’s expects 2026 capital expenditures of $3.7 billion to $3.9 billion, up from $3.4 billion in 2025, with the majority aimed at new unit openings in wholly owned markets. Borden said 2025 CapEx ran slightly above guidance in part due to foreign-exchange effects and spending that moved forward to support the 2026 and 2027 pipeline. The company is targeting a net income-to-free cash flow conversion rate in the low- to mid-80% range, in line with 84% in 2025.
Addressing near-term trends, Borden said the company expects first-half 2026 performance to be stronger than the second half due to year-over-year comparisons. He said U.S. comparable sales growth in the first quarter is expected to decelerate sequentially from the fourth quarter, citing the outsized lift from Monopoly and the Grinch in Q4 and severe weather beginning in late January. Borden estimated weather as a roughly 100-basis-point drag for the full quarter based on January impacts. He also said international markets experienced weather pressure in parts of Europe in January, while developmental licensed markets face ongoing macro challenges in China and parts of Latin America.
Menu, beverages, digital, and technology roadmap
Chief Restaurant Experience Officer Jill McDonald outlined priorities across beef, beverages, and chicken, noting the company’s recent category management structure is intended to increase speed and accountability. She said the Best Burger initiative has rolled out to more than 85 markets and is on track to reach nearly all markets by the end of 2026. McDonald also said the Big Arch platform has shown strong traction and recently earned a permanent spot on the U.K. menu.
On beverages, McDonald described a global opportunity of more than $100 billion and said consumers should expect new U.S. and select international offerings in 2026. She said McDonald’s will launch a new U.S. beverage lineup later in 2026 under the McCafé brand, building on a test that exceeded expectations across more than 500 U.S. restaurants in the fourth quarter. McDonald said the test drove incremental occasions across dayparts, higher average check, and included strong results from a Red Bull collaboration. In Q&A, she added the company applied learnings from CosMc’s to the McCafé beverage launch and said the test performed well across crafted sodas, refreshers, and energy offerings.
On chicken, McDonald said the company grew chicken share across its top 10 markets in 2025 and remains on track to increase share by at least 1 percentage point by the end of 2026 versus December 2023. She said McCrispy sandwich “equity” was deployed to nearly all major markets by the end of 2025 and noted early-stage testing in the Chicagoland area involving new flavor combinations and cooking methods.
Management also emphasized digital progress. Kempczinski said systemwide sales to loyalty members nearly doubled from 2023 levels, reaching nearly 210 million 90-day active users across 70 markets in 2025, and reiterated a goal of 250 million by the end of 2027. Borden provided a U.S. example, saying an average customer visited 10.5 times in the 12 months before joining the loyalty program and 26 times in the 12 months after joining. Kempczinski also cited benefits from Ready on Arrival in top markets, including faster service and improved customer satisfaction.
Looking further out, executives said they plan to share more details with the system at a worldwide convention in Las Vegas in June and provide an investor update in the fall.
About McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD)
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.
Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.
-logo-1200x675.png?v=20220915161652&h=45&w=95&zc=2){kind=logo}