McDonald's U.S. same-store sales fall 0.2% despite value push

McDonald's U.S. same-store sales fell 0.2% in the July-September quarter, its first retreat since early 2025. Customer traffic weakened as shoppers absorbed higher gas prices and an uncomfortably high cost of living.

The Chicago-based burger giant's decline was less severe than Wall Street's expected 0.5% drop. Same-store sales cover restaurants open for at least a year, removing newer locations from the comparison and isolating performance at established restaurants.

What does the traffic decline mean for operators?

Revenue Management Solutions, a restaurant industry consultant, said third-quarter foot traffic fell 2.6% across the U.S. fast-food sector. McDonald's also reported weaker customer traffic at its U.S. restaurants, though it did not provide a company-specific percentage.

The operator-level issue is volume: fewer visits reduce the number of transactions available to cover restaurant costs. The results include no check averages, food-cost ratios, labor percentages or margins, so they cannot show whether lower traffic translated into a proportional profit decline.

Traffic counts visits, while same-store sales measure revenue at locations open at least a year. A 0.2% sales decline alongside a 2.6% sector traffic drop therefore cannot be read as a one-for-one relationship, particularly without an average check.

McDonald's restored in-app deals and concentrated its marketing on value during the quarter. Those actions helped push same-store sales into positive territory in September, providing a specific counterweight to the broader traffic weakness.

At an investor presentation last month, Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said: "This is the environment that we're in right now. You have to be on your game and deliver that value." He added: "The pressure around cost of living isn't going away."

The practical change for McDonald's operators is a continued focus on value through app-based promotions and marketing. The available figures do not disclose average checks or separate company-operated and franchised performance, so the trade-off between traffic and unit economics remains unclear.

Global growth offset the domestic decline

Global same-store sales rose 1.3% during the same July-September period, even as U.S. same-store sales fell. Strong sales in Germany and Australia helped offset weakness in France amid protests that began in September.

The geographic split gave McDonald's a positive worldwide comparable-sales result despite the U.S. decline. It also shows why one market's traffic cannot stand in for the chain's global performance.

Profit beat expectations despite the revenue miss

McDonald's reported quarterly revenue of $7.16 billion, up 1%, below the $7.28 billion Wall Street expected. Net income increased 9% to $2.49 billion.

Adjusted earnings were $3.57 per share, ahead of analysts' $3.38 forecast. Shares rose more than 2% before Wednesday's opening bell.

The earnings figure requires care because the $3.57 per-share result adjusts for one-time items. McDonald's did not identify those items, so the 9% net-income increase cannot be assigned to restaurant margins or operating costs from these figures alone.

For an operator, revenue and adjusted earnings tell different stories: traffic measures demand, while revenue and profit also reflect pricing, mix and costs. The quarter's revenue miss and adjusted earnings beat therefore cannot be reduced to the traffic figure.

The next test is whether McDonald's can keep September's value-driven momentum while the cost-of-living pressure Kempczinski described persists. The latest results combine positive global same-store sales and a per-share profit beat with falling U.S. traffic and a revenue miss, leaving the domestic volume problem as the more consequential challenge.