McDonald’s has reported its biggest sales drop since the pandemic as customers in the U.S. are concerned about the economy and are pulling back on spending.
The fast food chain’s U.S. sales shrank 3.6 percent, the worst drop since the second quarter of 2020, as the company acknowledged customers are “grappling with uncertainty.”
“McDonald’s has a 70-year legacy of innovation, leadership, and proven agility, all of which give us confidence in our ability to navigate even the toughest of market conditions and gain market share,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement.
The restaurant’s sales at locations that have been open for at least a year fell 1 percent globally in the January-March period.
Wall Street had been expecting an increase of nearly 2 percent, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
McDonald’s has responded by expanding its U.S. value menu, which lets customers buy one item for $1 when they buy a full-priced item. It’s also offering its $5 Meal Deal through this summer. That deal was introduced last June and extended several times.
But the results suggest that the affordable menu hasn’t gone far enough to help ease the anxiety of consumers against the backdrop of a global trade war, Bloomberg reports.
The company is holding a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET, where more details are expected to be announced.
