McDonald's preparing for 'challenging' 2025, CEO says

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McDonald’s Corp. expects that the wallets of their lower-income customers will remain stretched into next year, Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said Thursday.

“We’re starting to talk about 2025, and my message to our teams has been: ‘We need to be preparing for another challenging year,’” he said in remarks at a Boston College Chief Executives Club event. “We need to be making sure that we’ve got a really strong value proposition in all of our markets.”

The burger chain in July reported its first quarterly same-store sales drop in about four years amid curbed spending by consumers following years of high levels of inflation.

McDonald’s rolled out a limited-time $5 meal deal in June, and it’s looking at further revamping its value offerings, Kempczinski has said. Company executives have previously said they expect consumers to remain pressured for several quarters.

One way to offer more affordable meals is with chicken, which is cheaper than beef and has climbed in popularity in recent years. Kempczinski said beef is more than twice as expensive as chicken on a per-pound basis.

“It’s easier to deliver value on chicken products than it is on beef products,” Kempczinski said.

McDonald’s is scheduled report third-quarter earnings on Oct. 29.

— With assistance from Daniela Sirtori.