mcdonalds Quarterly profits and sales announced Wednesday beat analysts’ expectations, as its value push has won back customers.
“By listening to our customers and taking action, we improved our traffic and strengthened our value and affordability scores,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement.
Here’s how the company reported compared to Wall Street expectations, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG.
Earnings per share: $3.12 adjusted vs. $3.05 expected Revenue: $7.0 billion vs. $6.84 billion expected
The fast food giant reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.16 billion, or $3.03 per share, up from $2.02 billion, or $2.80 per share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding restructuring costs, McDonald’s earned a profit of $3.12 per share.
Net revenue increased 10% to $7 billion.
The company’s same-store sales increased 5.7%, supported by strong growth in its home market. Wall Street had expected same-store sales to rise 3.9%, according to Street Account estimates.
U.S. same-store sales increased 6.8%. Domestic same-store sales fell 1.4% in the same period last year, as an E. coli outbreak weighed on customer traffic in the first few weeks of the quarter. McDonald’s credits high-profile promotions like the Grinch Meal and Monopoly promotions with boosting both traffic and sales this year.
McDonald’s has been the world’s largest hosiery retailer for nearly a week thanks to the popularity of its Grinch Meals, which include special edition clothing items in many markets. Kempczinski said the company sold 50 million pairs worldwide in the first few days of the promotion. According to Chief Financial Officer Ian Bowden, this also helped McDonald’s record high single-day sales.
The chain has also expanded its value offerings by reintroducing Extra Value Meals, which offer around 15% off combo meals.
Outside the United States, McDonald’s increased same-store sales in nearly all markets. The company’s International Markets segment, which includes Germany and Australia, reported same-store sales growth of 5.2%. Same-store sales in the International Development License Markets segment increased 4.5%.
Bolden said McDonald’s is “off to a strong start” for 2026. But executives expect same-store sales growth to slow in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter. While the Extra Value Meals drew customers, the winter storm that hit the country in late January scared some into temporarily closing their restaurants.
McDonald’s plans to spend between $3.7 billion and $3.9 billion on capital expenditures for the full year, according to a regulatory filing. The bulk of that money will be spent on opening approximately 2,600 new stores. The addition of 2,100 net new restaurants is expected to increase systemwide sales by approximately 2.5%, excluding currency.
McDonald’s plans to open approximately 750 restaurants in the United States and the international markets it operates, and its licensees and affiliates plan to open more than 1,800 restaurants in other markets.
“We believe the underlying assumptions of our 2026 outlook are prudent and reflect our expectation that the environment for the (quick-service restaurant) industry in the U.S. and in many markets will remain challenging,” Borden said.
The chain also has big plans for its 2026 menu.
Later this year, McDonald’s plans to launch new beverages in the U.S. and select international markets, including energy drinks, fruity soft drinks and craft sodas. The new drink is the result of a now-shuttered CosMc spinoff and lessons learned from a 500-restaurant test last summer. Like Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s hopes its fun drinks will attract customers and boost sales.
The chain is also focusing on chicken, which is more popular with U.S. consumers than beef. We recently began testing hand-breaded chicken strips, wings, and grilled sandwiches at several Chicago-area locations. Still, the experiment is still in its early stages, Jill McDonald, global chief restaurant experience officer, said on the company’s conference call.
In the long term, McDonald’s is also considering adding menu items that may be of interest to customers using GLP-1 drugs, McDonald’s said. Additionally, the chain will emphasize the high protein content of its existing menu.
“We are guided by our customers and what they want from us, and there are many things on our current menu that our customers will enjoy,” she said.
