McDonald’s is spending billions to make major changes

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McDonald’s is spending billions of dollars to boost its franchises, an effort to cement its title as the leader in fast food amid growing competition .

The chain announced Wednesday that it will invest $8.5 billion by 2036 on a series of initiatives, including remodeling restaurants, retraining their 2 million employees and adding new menu items to target high-protein eaters.

About $5 billion will be spent in the next three-and-a-half years alone, a combination of capital support as well as rent relief for franchises.

It’s all part of multiyear strategy to win back diners and capture more market share. Last month, McDonald’s reported its slowest quarterly growth since 2025. The chain had blamed the decline on launching too many promotions, inadequate customer service and its massive World Cup promotion failing to attract eaters.

The new strategy, called “Next,” aims to make the chain “the first choice for more customers, more often — while making our restaurants stronger and easier to run,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a press release.

McDonald’s troubles are part of broader economic issues affecting all dining chains, like rising food prices causing customers to dine out less . The chain’s stock have fallen about 20% for the year.

In addition to rent relief and capital support, some of that multibillion-dollar spend will be used for remodeling restaurants. McDonald’s mandates its franchises remodel every decade.

Images revealed on Wednesday show expansive dining rooms, bigger play areas and improved lighting. There are also redesigned kitchens that will use new AI tools to improve speed and efficiency, which the company said it expects to earn each restaurant an additional $100,000 in cash flow via savings.

McDonald’s also focused on changing its menu as it combats new competition, such as: a revitalized Burger King , beverages from fast-growing upstarts, and chicken-centric chains rolling out nuggets and tenders.

Notably, Burger King posted an 8.5% increase in US same-store sales last quarter, outpacing McDonald’s by the largest margin in more than a decade.

McDonald’s also noted a growing market of protein seekers, which it said amounts to 60 million Americans as well as 30 million GLP-1 users. The chain is testing burger and chicken bowls, egg bites and more grilled chicken options, like in wraps.

Customers “want more protein, greater portion flexibility and food that leaves them feeling satisfied without feeling like too much,” McDonald’s USA president Skye Anderson said at the company’s investor day on Wednesday.

A new value menu is also also being discussed with its franchisees that will replace its recently introduced “$3 and Under” menu, Kempczinski said. Last month, he said restaurants “were overwhelmed by too many deployments (of promotions) in the quarter, which led to less efficient restaurant operations… and impacted customer service times.”

In addition to previously announced drinks , the chain is focusing on installing new espresso machines and offering alternative milks in an attempt to improve coffee sales.

Lastly, McDonald’s is launching a new program on October 5 to retrain its 2 million employees worldwide. Rivals, like Burger King and Starbucks, are rolling out similar programs as customers grow tired of self-service technology .

“While there is so much our customers love, we are falling short when it comes to consistent execution,” Anderson said Wednesday.

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麦当劳正斥资数十亿美元提升其特许经营业务，力图在日益激烈的竞争中巩固其在快餐行业的领导地位。

该连锁餐厅周三宣布，到 2036 年，将投资 85 亿美元用于一系列举措，包括改造餐厅、重新培训其 200 万名员工以及增加新的菜单项以吸引高蛋白饮食者。

仅在未来三年半的时间里，就将投入约 50 亿美元，其中包括资金支持和特许经营租金减免。

这一切都是麦当劳多年战略的一部分，旨在赢回顾客并夺取更多市场份额。上个月，麦当劳公布了自2025年以来最慢的季度增长。该公司将业绩下滑归咎于促销活动过多、客户服务不足以及世界杯期间的大规模促销活动未能吸引顾客。

首席执行官克里斯·肯普钦斯基在一份新闻稿中表示，这项名为“Next”的新战略旨在让该连锁店“成为更多顾客更频繁的首选，同时增强餐厅的实力，使其更容易运营”。

麦当劳的困境是影响所有餐饮连锁店的更广泛经济问题的一部分，例如食品价格上涨导致顾客减少外出就餐。该连锁店的股价今年已下跌约20%。

除了租金减免和资金支持外，这数十亿美元的支出中一部分将用于餐厅翻新。麦当劳要求其加盟店每十年进行一次翻新。

周三公布的图片显示，餐厅拥有更宽敞的用餐区、更大的儿童游乐区和更明亮的照明。此外，重新设计的厨房将采用新的人工智能工具来提高速度和效率，该公司表示，预计每家餐厅将通过节省成本增加10万美元的现金流。

麦当劳还专注于改变其菜单，以应对新的竞争，例如：重振旗鼓的汉堡王、快速增长的新兴饮料品牌以及推出鸡块和鸡柳等以鸡肉为主的连锁店。

值得注意的是，汉堡王上季度在美国的同店销售额增长了 8.5%，以十多年来最大的幅度超过了麦当劳。

麦当劳还注意到，追求高蛋白饮食的消费者群体正在不断壮大，据估计，美国有6000万这样的消费者，此外还有3000万GLP-1受体激动剂使用者。该连锁店正在测试汉堡和鸡肉碗、鸡蛋块以及更多烤鸡产品，例如烤鸡卷饼。

麦当劳美国总裁斯凯·安德森周三在公司投资者日上表示，顾客“想要更多的蛋白质、更大的份量灵活性以及让他们感到满足但又不会觉得吃太多的食物”。

肯普钦斯基表示，公司正在与加盟商商讨推出新的超值菜单，以取代近期推出的“3美元及以下”菜单。他上个月曾表示，由于本季度促销活动过多，餐厅“不堪重负，导致餐厅运营效率降低……并影响了客户服务时间”。

除了之前宣布的饮品外，该连锁店还专注于安装新的意式浓缩咖啡机并提供替代牛奶，以期提高咖啡销量。

最后，麦当劳将于10月5日启动一项新计划，对其全球200万名员工进行再培训。随着顾客对自助服务技术感到厌倦，汉堡王和星巴克等竞争对手也正在推出类似的计划。

安德森周三表示：“虽然我们的客户有很多喜欢的地方，但在持续执行方面，我们做得还不够好。”