McDonald’s US sales drop by most since height of pandemic

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McDonald’s has posted its biggest drop in US sales since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago as uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs weighs heavily on consumer sentiment.
Same-store sales in its home market fell 3.6 per cent year on year in the quarter that ended in March, driven mainly by lower customer numbers, the world’s biggest burger chain said in results on Thursday.
The fall in sales at restaurants open for at least a year came as consumer sentiment tumbled late in the quarter after tariffs shook markets and prompted worries among Americans about their employment prospects.
McDonald’s chief executive Chris Kempczinski said in a statement that “consumers today are grappling with uncertainty”. Later on, in a call with analysts, he noted that “geopolitical tensions added to the uncertainty and dampened consumer sentiment more than we expected”.
He added: “We’re not immune to the volatility in the industry or the pressures that our consumers are facing.”
Analysts had expected a more modest 1.4 per cent fall in like-for-like sales at McDonald’s roughly 14,000 US restaurants, according to Visible Alpha. It is the second quarter in a row that US comparable sales have fallen, and was the biggest drop since an 8.7 per cent plunge in mid-2020.

US fast-food industry visits by low-income consumers fell nearly 10 per cent in the first quarter, according to Kempczinski. Visits among middle-income consumers fell at a similar pace, suggesting broader economic concerns among consumers.
“People are just being more judicious about cutting back on visits,” Kempczinski said, adding that some customers were now having breakfast at home rather than at McDonald’s — or skipping that meal entirely.
McDonald’s shares fell 1 per cent on Thursday.
The data follows weaker US quarterly sales at food and drinks groups Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Yum Brands’ KFC and Pizza Hut. By contrast, Yum’s Taco Bell US unit reported a 9 per cent increase in same-store sales.
McDonald’s has continued to extend promotions such as its “$5 meal deal” introduced last summer as it looks to lure consumers into its restaurants. It has also rolled out limited-time offers such as a combination of Big Mac, fries, drink and collectible figures tied to the release of A Minecraft Movie this month.
Global comparable sales declined 1 per cent year on year in the first quarter, with weakness in countries including the UK partly offset by stronger sales in markets including Japan and the Middle East. Middle East sales until recently had been hit by boycotts related to Gaza.
Kempczinski said his company had surveyed consumers in top global markets about their views on the US, American brands and McDonald’s.
While there had been no change to public opinion on the McDonald’s brand, he said more people signalled they would be cutting back on buying American brands. The surveys also revealed an 8 to 10-point rise in “anti-American sentiment”, he said, notably in northern Europe and Canada.
Revenue at McDonald’s fell 3 per cent to $5.96bn, missing the $6.12bn estimate in a Visible Alpha poll. Net income also undershot expectations with a 3 per cent fall to $1.87bn.
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2025-05-01 10:26:40