McDonald's

Revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 came in at $7.1 billion, up 4% year-over-year, while diluted earnings per share of $3.32 rose 6% and topped analyst expectations.

The standout metric was U.S. demand softness: comparable sales rose just 0.8%, down sharply from 2.5% a year earlier, as positive check growth was more than offset by declining guest counts.

Systemwide sales still grew 5% to $37 billion, though global comparable sales growth decelerated to 1.3% from a much stronger pace a year ago.

Management also pushed back its global restaurant-growth timeline to 50,000 locations by 2028, citing a pressured U.S. consumer and rising development costs.

On August 4, 2026, the company named Skye Anderson president of McDonald's USA, succeeding Joe Erlinger, who had held the role since 2019.

Anderson, a 26-year company veteran and former McDonald's USA chief operating officer, inherits the chain's largest and most pressured market; Erlinger will remain as an advisor through early 2027.

The company also began rolling out its first-ever energy drink, a Red Bull collaboration called the Dragonberry Energizer, debuting nationwide on August 17, 2026.

Bulls point to the company's 50 consecutive years of dividend increases and an asset-light, franchise-funded model that keeps most growth capital off McDonald's own balance sheet.

Bears counter that the U.S. traffic problem looks structural, not cyclical, as grocery and other prepared-food alternatives keep pulling price-sensitive visits away despite value-menu discounting.

Skeptics also flag that shares still carry a premium valuation relative to slowing earnings growth, leaving little room for further disappointment.

Whether the leadership change and the McDonald's > NEXT strategy can reverse the domestic guest-count slide will likely drive sentiment in coming quarters.