NEW YORK: McDonald's Corp. is having trouble stomaching the competition.
The world's biggest hamburger chain said Thursday that a key sales figure fell for the first time in nearly a decade in October, as it faced the double whammy of a challenging economy abroad and intensifying competition at home. The company, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, says global revenue at restaurants open at least 13 months fell 1.8 percent for the month. The last time it dropped was in March 2003.
The figure is a key metric because it strips out the impact of newly opened and closed locations. It's a snapshot of money spent on food at both company-owned and franchised restaurants and does not reflect corporate revenue.
McDonald's says the figure fell 2.2 percent in both the US and Europe in October. In the region encompassing Asia, the Middle East and Africa, it dropped 2.4 percent. CEO Don Thompson cited the "pervasive challenges of today's global marketplace" for the declines.
After years of outperforming its rivals, McDonald's has seen sales slow recently, with longtime rivals such as Burger King and Wendy's working to revive their brands with improved menus and new TV ad campaigns. Taco Bell, owned by Yum Brands Inc., is also enjoying growth with the help of new offerings such as it Doritos Locos Tacos and higher-end Cantina Bell bowls and burritos.
Additionally, people are increasingly flocking to restaurants such as Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and Panera Bread Co., which offer better-quality food for a little more money. The broader fast-food landscape has been undergoing changes over the past several years, with the rise of chains such as Subway and Starbucks.
On Thursday, McDonald's said it would remain focused on underscoring its value message.
In the US, for example, the company is returning its focus on the Dollar Menu, which was introduced about a decade ago. The move comes after an attempt to shift customers to an "Extra Value Menu," which charges slightly higher prices, fell flat.
In October, McDonald’s said that the impact of Dollar Menu advertising in the US was offset by “modest consumer demand”.
and heightened competition. Moving forward, the company said it would continue its everyday value marketing.
The Extra Value Menu was intended to give McDonald's more flexibility with profit margins. With the Dollar Menu, the company has had to swap out many items over the years as costs for ingredients have climbed. For example, the Dollar Menu was first introduced with the flagship offering of the Big 'N Tasty, made with a quarter-pound beef patty. Earlier this year, McDonald's even took its small fries off the Dollar Menu.
The same was true for Europe, where McDonald's gets 40 percent of its business. Amid the region's ongoing economic uncertainty, McDonald's said it would offer new meal combinations at various price ranges and continue remodeling restaurants. The company said positive results in the United Kingdom were offset by declines across many other regions.
In the Asia, the company said it plans to differentiate itself with menu offerings tailored to local tastes.
McDonald's shares were down 61 cents at $ 86.23 in premarket trading. The company, which has more than 34,000 locations worldwide, had warned last month that sales were trending negative for the month.
FROM: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
McDonald’s feels heat from competitors
McDonald’s feels heat from competitors
Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet advances climate resilience in Bangladesh
The Jameel Observatory Climate Resilience Early Warning System Network, an initiative co-founded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Community Jameel to reinvent climate change adaptation in vulnerable communities into a proactive, integrated and evidence-based process, announced the launch of its Adaptation Fortress initiative, transforming existing cyclone shelters and providing protection from heat waves in Bangladesh for the first time.
The first Adaptation Fortress is under construction in Satkhira district, southwest Bangladesh. If this pilot is successful, the initiative will open a pathway, with additional funding, to scaling up to 1,250 Adaptation Fortresses providing heatwave relief to half a million of the region’s most vulnerable residents.
More than 30 million people live in southwestern Bangladesh. Between 2019 and 2021, including in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple cyclones hit the region, devastating land, homes and entire communities. The threats posed by climate change — rising sea levels and more extreme weather — mean that people living in this region are likely to face similar crises in the years ahead. In addition to cyclones, extreme heat is a growing threat, putting people at risk of dehydration and heatstroke. In 2024, the UN found that heat waves caused nationwide school closures for two weeks, with some schools closing for six to eight weeks due to the combined impact of heat waves and flooding.
In Bangladesh, the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet has used its mid-century climate projections and analysis of local human systems to design a pilot for a multi-purpose, multi-objective structure called an Adaptation Fortress.
By engaging extensively with local communities, the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet, which includes among its partners BRAC, a global nongovernmental organization established in Bangladesh, is demonstrating a new model of climate adaptation that repurposes schools that are also cyclone shelters to serve as sanctuaries during extreme heat events.
The climate resilient shelter model is the first of its kind in Bangladesh and serves as a blueprint for infrastructure development across South Asia. Designed to protect the most vulnerable community members during government-declared heat emergencies, Adaptation Fortresses feature solar power generation and battery backup systems to ensure the shelter is resilient to outages during extreme heat conditions. The site also includes rainwater harvesting capacity and is designed so that excess energy generated when air conditioning is not in use is made available for community use.
Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel KBE, founder and chairman of Community Jameel, said: “The Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet’s construction of this first pilot Adaptation Fortress marks a milestone for Bangladesh and the region. It lays the foundation for a proactive response to cyclones and heat stress — emergencies that the team has projected will become frequent events, threatening the lives of millions in Bangladesh. By adapting infrastructure today, we are building the resilience needed for tomorrow.”
Professor Elfatih Eltahir, lead principal investigator of the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet, said: “Bangladesh built a vast network of cyclone shelters that have been effective in protecting vulnerable populations. For the first time the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet is introducing the concept of shelter from heat waves as well as cyclones in southwest Bangladesh. This integrated and proactive initiative will significantly improve climate resilience in a region with some of the highest risks from climate change.”
Dr. Deborah Campbell, executive director of the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet, said: “Bangladesh is getting hotter and will experience more frequent and severe heat waves, leaving many people very vulnerable to heat stress and lacking the resources to adapt. The Adaptation Fortress initiative will provide shelter for the most vulnerable community members in southwest Bangladesh and has the potential to serve as a model for similar proactive climate resilience infrastructure development across Bangladesh and South Asia.”
Dr. Md Liakath Ali, principal investigator of the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet at BRAC, said: “BRAC is proud to partner with the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet in pioneering the Adaptation Fortress initiative, an important step toward protecting vulnerable communities from the growing risks of extreme heat in coastal Bangladesh. By transforming existing cyclone shelters into multi-purpose, climate-resilient infrastructure, we are demonstrating how locally grounded solutions can address emerging climate hazards while strengthening community well-being. Alongside the pilot, we are committed to engaging policy makers so that future heat and climate risks are integrated into national planning processes. The lessons from this initiative will not only support communities in the southwest, but also inform long-term, scalable strategies for resilience across the country.”
