McDonald's (MCD) unveiled its NEXT strategy on Wednesday, setting new financial targets for the fast-food giant, including market share gains, restaurant efficiency and unit expansion to increase systemwide sales.
The strategy covers four pillars of McDonald's business -- menu, consumer, restaurant and people -- to drive baseline guest-count growth, generate more visits over time, unlock restaurant-level efficiency, and increase repeat visits through consistent hospitality, according to the company.
"We are confident that executing across the key components of NEXT will unlock stronger restaurant economics, generate attractive returns for the company, our franchisees and shareholders, and increase capacity to keep investing in growth," Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski said in a statement.
McDonald's is targeting gains in market share of 1.5 percentage points in both chicken and beverages by 2030, while driving 2.5% growth in systemwide sales through unit expansion in 2027 before moderating to about 2% by 2030.
The company reported systemwide sales growth of 7% in 2025, reaching $139.4 billion, with US sales up 3% year-over-year.
McDonald's also plans to improve gross restaurant-level efficiency by about 250 basis points, equal to nearly $100,000 in annual cash flow benefits for the average US restaurant. The company said it will provide about $8.5 billion in NEXT partnering support through 2036 in rent relief and capital funds.
Additional targets include an operating margin in the low-to-mid 50% range, free cash flow conversion in the mid-to-high 80% range by 2030, and about $3 billion in annual baseline capital expenditures from 2027 through 2030.
In August, the company guided for 2026 operating margin in the mid-to-high 40% range, free cash flow conversion rate in the low-to-mid 80% range, and capital expenditures between $3.7 billion and $3.9 billion.
McDonald's shares were down 4.3% in Wednesday trading and have fallen 22% this year.
UBS Securities said Monday that expectations for McDonald's investor day were reasonably low, as sentiment on shares remained negative amid concerns over pressured sales trends and a difficult industry backdrop. "Despite near-term US pressures, we believe risk/ reward is attractive with shares at the lower end of historical valuation ranges," the firm added.
Last month, McDonald's second-quarter revenue fell short of market expectations as comparable sales growth in the US slowed year over year amid a challenging consumer backdrop.
Restaurant chain Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) reported Wednesday an unexpected increase in fourth-quarter profit and projected a rebound in sales for the new fiscal year driven by improving traffic trends. Darden Restaurants (DRI) is slated to announce its fiscal first-quarter results Thursday.
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