Dive Brief:
- McDonald’s posted same-store sales growth of 3.9% in the U.S. during Q1 2026, marking its fourth-consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth.
- The chain attributed the growth to marketing initiatives, like its partnership with Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters; menu innovation, including the Big Arch Burger and new sauces; and ongoing efforts to improve its value proposition, such as its Extra Value Menu, CFO Ian Borden said during a Thursday earnings call.
- Q2 started off slow, with a difficult April as the chain lapped a successful Minecraft campaign from April 2025, Borden said. The second quarter will likely see a deceleration from the first quarter comparables, but McDonald’s expects the comparable sales to be up on a two-year basis.
Dive Insight:
However, traffic momentum could build during Q2 with the April launch of its Under $3 Menu and May beverage expansion under its McCafé line.
According to Placer.ai, McDonald’s traffic rose 0.6% year over year, despite Winter Storm Fern in January, which drove a traffic decline of 1.3% that month. Traffic increased by 3.8% in February, but fell by 1.2% in March. While positive overall, traffic growth slowed compared to Q4 2025, when visits grew 5.3%, according to Placer.Ai, thanks to the September launch of Extra Value Meals, the return of Monopoly and its December Grinch Meal.
Extra Value Meals continue to perform well in the first quarter, helping drive incrementality, Borden said, adding that the financial support it has been providing franchisees under the EVM relaunch is expected to be below its original $35 million estimate.
“EVMs remain a core part of our menu offering and continue to provide customers with a compelling and consistent discount versus à la carte pricing on their core McDonald's favorites,” Borden said.
McDonald’s has worked closely with franchisees to ensure that the chain is offering “the most compelling value,” Borden said. Franchisees overwhelmingly approved of the revamped McValue platform — the Under $3 Menu — which launched in April.
That menu was made possible through the elimination of its buy-one-get-one offer and a reduction in app discounts, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh said in an April 28 report that highlighted feedback from franchisees.
Operators said they expect a neutral margin impact with the new value menu and some were “mildly optimistic,” especially since the under $3 price points typically resonate better than BOGO offers. As this isn’t McDonald’s first value offering, many operators said they expect awareness to take time and for this menu to be a slow build.
“Together, the under $3 Under menu and the meal deals provide clear, compelling price points across all dayparts, similar to what we've been offering successfully in nearly all major international markets,” Borden said. “As with any new program, we know it may take time to build awareness, but early indicators on McValue performance since the changes were introduced a couple of weeks ago are in line with our expectations.”
BTIG expects McDonald’s to support its value proposition with a larger media campaign that could help improve the chain’s value awareness.
“In our view, McDonald's has been offering deep value for the past three years, but not getting credit for it as it wasn't visible on the in-store menu,” Saleh said.
Franchisees have been "overwhelmingly positive” about the McCafé beverage expansion and expect at least a 200 basis point increase from the initial beverage expansion even before energy drinks are added, Saleh said.
“Our conversations suggest that the beverage platform will at the very least drive incremental check, and could meaningfully increase food attachment,” Saleh wrote.
