McDonald’s $5 Menu Is Leading to Even Bigger Orders

If you bought something off the McDonald’s value menu recently, there’s a good chance that’s not all you bought. 

The fast-food giant, which earlier this year extended its $5 Meal Deal and added a buy one, get one for $1 offering, on Monday said that diners who show up for the value menu often end up spending double-digit dollars. 

“If you look at the $5 Meal Deal, even though that’s compelling value, it’s driving other purchases,” McDonald’s (MCD) CEO Chris Kempczinski said on Monday’s conference call, a transcript of which was made available by AlphaSense. “The average check on [a] $5 Meal Deal for us in the U.S. is north of $10. So it’s doing what we were hoping for when we launched that.”

McDonald’s launched the $5 deal last year as it and other restaurant chains sought to bring lower-income and other customers who were weary of inflation back into its stores. The company earlier today said it managed global same-store sales growth in the most-recent quarter, surprising Wall Street analysts who had broadly expected a decline. 

The news has helped shares of McDonald’s today, with the stock recently up about 5%, bringing it to a nearly 7% rise over the past 12 months. 

McDonald’s believes that if customers believe the chain delivers value for their dollars, they’ll be more likely to pay for full-price items, too. On Monday’s call, Kempczinski discussed ongoing plans including the reintroduction of its Snack Wraps, new chicken strips, and updated burgers. 

“With good value at the foundation, we will overlay a strong pipeline of creative marketing ideas that will delight our fans and will provide full margin check growth,” he said. “Our core menu remains at the heart of our business.”