What’s ‘Next’: McDonald’s outlines strategy to boost traffic, market share

McDonald's sign — The company expects restaurant operating margins to reach the low-to-mid 50 per cent range. (Source: Bigstock)

By Sean Cao September 24, 2026

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McDonald’s has outlined the key initiatives in its ‘Next’ strategy, designed to drive comparable sales and traffic growth, gain market share and enhance productivity.

According to the company, the four pillars of the plan will “contribute to a new chapter of growth and drive system and shareholder returns”. These include an elevated menu to improve baseline guest count, personalized customer relationships to generate more visits over time, modernized restaurant design and tech, and investment in staff to deliver a consistent customer experience.

McDonald’s also plans to provide approximately $8.5 billion to support franchisees through 2036, including approximately $5 billion through 2030.

With the strategy, the company expects restaurant operating margins to reach the low-to-mid 50 per cent range by 2030. Unit expansion is forecast to contribute nearly 2.5 per cent to systemwide sales growth in 2027, moderating to about 2 per cent by 2030.

The chain also targets 1.5 per cent of market share gains in both chicken and beverage categories by 2030, while maintaining its leadership position in beef.

“We are confident that executing across the key components of Next will unlock stronger restaurant economics, generate attractive returns for the company, our franchisees and shareholders, and increase capacity to keep investing in growth,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement.

Despite the new strategy, McDonald’s shares fell as much as 6.5 per cent on Wednesday, after Kempczinski expected industrywide customer traffic to be flat amid elevated inflation.

“We expect industry traffic growth in our wholly owned markets will be flat while inflation remains elevated. The winners will be the companies that create more demand and deliver it more efficiently,” he said during an investor meeting.

According to Reuters, the warning reinforced investor concerns that McDonald’s turnaround could take longer than expected.

In the second quarter ended June 30, the company reported a 1.3 per cent increase in global comparable sales. However, in the US, comp sales were up only 0.8 per cent, a major step back from the 3.9 per cent growth seen in the first quarter, as the business faced falling traffic.