McDonald’s store traffic fell further than expected in the first quarter as economic uncertainty weighed on diners.
The trouble was particularly acute in the U.S., where same-store sales — or sales at locations open at least a year — slumped 3.6%. That was the biggest U.S. decline McDonald’s has seen since 2020, when a pandemic shuttered stores and restaurants and other public spaces nationwide.
McDonald's Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said lower- and middle-income consumers, worried about inflation and the economic outlook, cut back on fast food during the January-March period.
Industrywide traffic from consumers making $45,000 per year or less was down by double-digit percentages, he said, and traffic from middle-income consumers was down nearly as much. Only traffic from those making $100,000 or more remained solid, he said.
“We believe McDonald’s can weather these difficult conditions better than most,” Kempczinski said Thursday in a conference call with investors. “However, we’re not immune to the volatility in the industry or the pressures that our consumers are facing.”
McDonald's rivals have reported similar downturns. Yum Brands, which owns the Taco Bell, KFC, Habit Burger & Grill and Pizza Hut brands, said Wednesday that its U.S. same-store sales fell 2% in the first quarter. Chipotle also reported weaker-than-expected same-store sales in the first quarter.
McDonald's same-store sales fell 1% globally in the first quarter, as growing traffic in Japan, China and the Middle East failed to overcome weakness in markets like the U.K. Without the impact of the extra leap year day in 2024, same-store sales were flat, the company said. Wall Street had been expecting an increase of nearly 2%, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
The Chicago-based chain has responded by introducing a U.S. McValue menu, which lets customers buy one item for $1 when they buy a full-priced item. It also announced Thursday that its $5 Meal Deal will run through the rest of this year. That deal was introduced last June and extended several times.
Kempczinski said the $5 Meal Deal is resonating well with consumers but the McValue menu is not driving the additional sales the company expected, so McDonald's may make changes to it.
Kempczinski said McDonald's had expected the first quarter to be its weakest this year. Already, things are looking up.
In April, a McDonald's meal tied to “A Minecraft Movie,” which was offered in 100 countries, sold out of its collectible figures in less than two weeks. New chicken strips and the U.S. return of the snack wrap — exected later this year — are also expected to drive traffic, Kempczinski said.
McDonald's reaffirmed its financial targets for the full year despite the impact of tariffs. And Kempczinski said McDonald's internal surveys show that anti-American sentiment, particularly in Canada and Northern Europe, doesn't seem to be impacting how consumers feel about the McDonald's brand.
McDonald's shares were down 1% in morning trading Thursday.
McDonald's first quarter revenue fell 3% to $5.95 billion, short of analysts’ forecast of $6.09 billion, according to FactSet.
Net income fell 3% to $1.86 billion. Adjusted for restructuring charges and other one-time items, the company earned $2.67 per share, beating Wall Street projections by a penny.
FILE - McDonald's restaurant signs are shown in in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 9, 2023. McDonald's reports earning on Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.
The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.
The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.
The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”
The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.
Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.
The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.
On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.
Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.
“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”
Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.
Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.
“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.
Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
