FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 23, 2026--
Together with more than 20,000 Associates nationwide, AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) celebrates a decade of DRV PNK and more than $50 million raised and donated to drive out cancer. To commemorate these milestones, AutoNation announced an additional $1 million investment through 10 grants of $100,000 each to 10 longtime partners advancing cancer research and supporting patients, survivors, and caregivers. Over the past decade, DRV PNK has evolved into a defining part of AutoNation’s culture, uniting Associates, customers, vendors, and nonprofit partners in the fight against cancer.
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The 10 grants were announced at AutoNation’s headquarters in Fort Lauderdale during DRV PNK Across America Day. The annual tradition brings together thousands of Associates to assemble and hand-deliver Totes for Hope care bags to pediatric and adult patients living with cancer at partner hospitals and organizations nationwide. To date, Associates have contributed more than 7,500 volunteer hours packing and delivering more than 40,000 Totes for Hope, filled with comfort items for patients and families.
“Ten years ago, we set out to make a difference in the fight against cancer, but DRV PNK has become much more than a fundraising effort," said Mike Manley, Chief Executive Officer at AutoNation. “It has become part of our culture because thousands of Associates have made this cause part of their everyday lives. Across our network of more than 300 locations, they are fundraising, volunteering their time, and supporting patients and their families in their communities. The additional $1 million grant funding reflects both our commitment to advancing cancer research and care, and the passion our Associates continue to bring to this cause every day.”
Manley joined AutoNation Associates and guests to present the grants to 10 longtime partners advancing cancer research and patient support:
These grants will support new and expanded programs spanning cancer research, education, prevention, and direct support for patients, survivors, and families. Funding will help accelerate early-career research, expand access to genetic counseling and integrative therapies, provide free transportation to treatment, and address food insecurity among families impacted by pediatric cancer.
DRV PNK has funded more than 170,000 hours of breast cancer research and inspired more than one million individual customer donations. Associates across the Company’s nationwide network of over 300 locations volunteer thousands of hours year-round, organizing and participating in community races, golf tournaments, supply drives, and holiday-themed events to raise funds and support patients and families.
AutoNation’s community outreach focuses on three key areas: health, fighting cancer through DRV PNK; youth empowerment, with an emphasis on career pathways; and education, with an emphasis on financial literacy. To learn more about DRV PNK, visit autonation.com/our-purpose/drive-pink.
About AutoNation, Inc.
AutoNation, one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States, offers innovative products and exceptional services as part of a portfolio of comprehensive solutions for our customers and their automotive needs. With a nationwide network of dealerships strengthened by a recognized brand, we offer a wide variety of new and used vehicles, customer financing, parts, and expert maintenance and repair services. Through DRV PNK, we have raised and donated over $50 million for cancer-related causes, demonstrating our commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of our Associates, Customers, and the communities we serve.
Please visit www.autonation.com, investors.autonation.com, newsroom.autonation.com, and www.x.com/autonation, where AutoNation discloses additional information about the Company, its business, and its results of operations.
AutoNation Associates packing Totes for Hope during DRV PNK Across America Day. Photo credit: Taylor Smith/Blue Eye Images
Mike Manley, AutoNation CEO, presenting a $1 million donation to longtime nonprofit partners advancing research and patient support. Photo credit: Taylor Smith/Blue Eye Images
McDonald’s said Wednesday it will spend $8.5 billion over the next decade to modernize its restaurants globally.
Fast-food traffic in many markets, including the U.S., is flat, so for McDonald’s to continue to grow it has to grab share from competitors and improve restaurant productivity, McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said at a meeting with investors at the company’s Chicago headquarters. McDonald's wants to automate more tasks, like inventory and scheduling, and improve kitchen operations.
“The winners will be the companies that create more demand and deliver it more efficiently,” Kempczinski said.
McDonald's shares fell nearly 5% Wednesday, their largest percentage drop since April 2025, as investors shuddered at the eye-popping price of improving McDonald's 46,000 global stores.
On the product side, McDonald's said hand-breaded chicken, which has rolled out at 10,000 restaurants in Asia and a handful of restaurants near Chicago, has boosted sales and quality ratings. Many of McDonald's competitors, like Chick-fil-A and KFC, offer hand-breaded chicken. The company plans to expand its testing to more markets in the U.S. and Ireland next year.
McDonald's also plans to introduce grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps in the U.S. and other markets and experiment with products like egg bites and bowls to meet the needs of customers who are seeking more protein and varied portion sizes.
Skye Anderson, the president of McDonald’s USA, said approximately 30 million Americans are now using GLP-1 weight loss drugs, and they’re seeking smaller, more protein-packed meals as a result. But the company’s research indicates that 60 million Americans are actively seeking more protein in their diet.
“This is an opportunity. We need to keep giving them more reasons to make McDonald’s their first choice,” Anderson said at McDonald’s investor day.
McDonald’s said the restaurant modernizations include lockers to handle delivery orders, more visible coffee preparation areas to enhance quality perceptions, bigger play areas and improved kitchen layouts. Scales to help ensure order accuracy – which are already in use at 10,000 restaurants globally – will be in 20,000 restaurants by 2028, McDonald’s said.
The company is deploying its ArchIQ system, developed with Google, that improves order accuracy with artificial intelligence and automates tasks like inventory management and scheduling. Archy, the company's AI-enabled drive-thru ordering system, is now capable of taking orders in Spanish and English with a 90% accuracy rate.
Archy could eventually reduce at least 50 labor hours per week in a typical McDonald's, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said. But he said the intention is not to reduce staffing. Instead, employees can focus more on hospitality or on tasks like hand-breading chicken.
Kempczinski said customers have responded positively to Archy in testing because it helps make their orders more accurate.
“It's not AI is bad or AI is good. We try to be really thoughtful about how we use it,” he said.
McDonald's is also rolling out new employee training that will focus on hospitality and food quality, said Tiffanie Boyd, McDonald's chief people officer. The training will be more experience-based, showing employees what a perfectly cooked Big Mac tastes like, for example, and will encourage more pleasant interactions with customers.
At the same time, McDonald's is still focused on value. Kempczinski said low-income consumers, defined as U.S. households making $45,000 or less, continue to go out for fast food but not as often as they used to. McDonald's has done a good job with meal bundles, like its $5 meal deal, he said. But the company is exploring ways to offer entry-level prices on a basic menu of items in the U.S., as it does in Europe and other markets.
“This is the environment that we’re in right now. You have to be on your game and deliver that value,” Kempczinski said. “The pressure around cost of living isn't going away.”
McDonald’s U.S. franchisees typically spend up to $450,000 per decade to on required store remodels. Under the company’s new plan, they will have to spend an additional $800,000 over time, but McDonald’s will pay a portion of that cost in the form of rent relief and capital support.
Borden said the investments will be phased in over time when markets and individual franchisees are ready for them. Once the investments are made, the efficiency improvements will deliver roughly $100,000 in annual cash flow benefits to the average U.S. restaurant, some of which can be reinvested in the restaurant, Borden said.
“We'd love to see it going into hospitality to elevate the experience with our customers,” Borden said.
FILE - People line up to enter a McDonald's restaurant in Beijing on Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
