Chicago, 28 September 2026 – McDonald’s shares closed at US$236.50 on 25 September, about 30.8% below their 52-week high of US$341.75, putting fresh attention on whether the restaurant group can rebuild traffic while protecting margins. The drawdown is a market-price measure, not a statement that sales or earnings have fallen by the same proportion. Investors are weighing household value concerns against a new operating strategy announced at the company’s 23 September investor event.
Management’s McDonald’s > NEXT plan seeks to make value, menu development and restaurant productivity reinforce one another. The company is targeting a 1.5-percentage-point gain in both chicken and beverage category share by 2030 while retaining its leadership in beef. It also aims for an operating margin in the low-to-mid 50% range and approximately 250 basis points of gross restaurant-level efficiency gains. Those figures are company targets, not results already achieved.
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