McDonald's says focus on value is bringing back customers

Business

McDonald's says focus on value is bringing back customers

2026-02-12 06:56 Last Updated At：13:05

McDonald’s focus on value is paying off.

The fast food giant said Wednesday that its global same-store sales — or sales at locations open at least a year — jumped 5.7% in the October-December period. That's better than the 3.9% Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Chicago-based McDonald's fourth quarter revenue and earnings also beat analysts' expectations.

McDonald’s cut prices on some U.S. combo meals in September. Those Extra Value Meal promotions came on top of discounts that began earlier in 2025, like the McValue menu. McDonald's popular Snack Wraps, which returned to menus in July for $2.99, also helped improve value perceptions.

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said those changes helped McDonald's gain share among consumers with household incomes of $45,000 or less, a segment that has been drifting away from the brand.

“McDonald’s is not going to get beat on value and affordability," Kempczinski said during a conference call with investors.

The company also boosted U.S. traffic in the fourth quarter with marketing schemes, including the return of its Monopoly game in October and a Grinch-themed meal in December. Kempczinski said McDonald's sold 50 million pairs of Grinch socks with those meals in the first few days of the promotion, briefly making the company the largest seller of socks in the world.

McDonald's said its same-store sales rose 6.8% in the U.S. in the October-December period. Ian Borden, McDonald's chief financial officer, said that pace will likely slow in the January-March period, partly because severe winter weather has hurt traffic or forced some restaurants to close or limit their hours.

McDonald's focus on value and marketing has been similar in international markets. In Germany, for example, lower-priced McSmart snacks have boosted store traffic. Same-store sales in McDonald's company-operated international markets rose 5.2% in the fourth quarter; Borden also expects that pace to slow in the first quarter due to weather impacts.

“We’re really confident about what’s within our control, really confident about the underlying momentum of the business,” Borden said.

The company said it's working on new menu items for this year, including beverages inspired by its short-lived CosMc's restaurant format. McDonald's said it plans to start selling energy drinks, iced coffees and fruity refreshers under its McCafe brand sometime later this year.

McDonald's revenue rose 10% to $7.01 billion in the fourth quarter. That beat Wall Street's forecast of $6.84 billion.

Net income rose 7% to $2.16 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, including restructuring charges, McDonald's earned $3.12 per share. That also beat analysts' forecast of a $3.05 per share profit.

McDonald's shares were flat in after-hours trading.

Other chains have also been focused on their value message over the last year. Taco Bell, which expanded its value menu in January 2025, said last week that its same-store sales jumped 7% in the October-December period.

Polls open for Bangladesh’s first election since the 2024 uprising that ousted Hasina

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Polls opened across Bangladesh on Thursday for voters to cast ballots in a parliamentary election seen as a critical test of the country’s democracy after years of political turmoil.

After a slow start, crowds came to polling stations in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere by midmorning. Balloting will continue through Thursday with results expected Friday.

More than 127 million people are eligible to vote in Bangladesh’s first election since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed in 2024 after weeks of mass protests. Hasina fled the country and her party is banned from the polls. She is living in exile in India.

Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is a leading contender to form the next government. He is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-exile in London. Rahman has pledged to rebuild democratic institutions, restore the rule of law and revive the struggling economy.

Challenging the BNP is an 11-party alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, which was banned under Hasina but has gained prominence since her removal. The conservative religious group’s growing influence has fueled concern, particularly among women and minority communities, that social freedoms could come under pressure if they come to power. Bangladesh is more than 90% Muslim, while around 8% are Hindu.

Shafiqur Rahman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, expressed optimism after casting his vote in a polling station.

“It (the election) is a turning point,” he told The Associated Press. “People demand change. They desire change. We also desire the change.”

The vote is taking place under an interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has said it is committed to delivering a credible and transparent election. As part of that effort, around 500 international observers and foreign journalists will be present, including delegations from the European Union and the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs.

Bangladesh’s Parliament has 350 seats, including 300 elected directly from single-member constituencies and 50 reserved for women. Lawmakers are chosen by plurality and the parliament serves a five-year term. The Election Commission recently postponed voting in one constituency after a candidate died.

The election could reshape the domestic stability of Bangladesh, a country whose post-1971 history since gaining independence from Pakistan has been marked by entrenched political parties, military coups and allegations of vote rigging. Young voters, many of whom played a central role in the 2024 uprising, are expected to be influential. Some 5 million first-time voters are eligible.

“I think it is a very crucial election because this is the first time we can show our opinion with freedom,” said 28-year-old voter Ikram ul Haque, adding that past elections were far from fair.

“We are celebrating the election. It is like a festival here,” he said. “I hope Bangladesh will have exponential change.”

Thursday’s election is a critical test not just of leadership but of trust in Bangladesh’s democratic future. Voters can say “Yes” to endorse major reform proposals that stemmed from a national charter signed by major political parties last year.

If a majority of voters favor the referendum, the newly elected Parliament could form a constitutional reform council to make the changes with 180 working days from its first session. The proposals include the creation of new constitutional bodies and changing Parliament from a single body to a bicameral legislature with an upper house empowered to amend the constitution by majority vote.

The BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami both signed the document with some changes after initially expressing some dissent. Hasina’s Awami League party, which is a major party, and some of its former allies were excluded from the discussion. The referendum has still been criticized for limiting the options put before voters.