McDonald’s golden arches are gleaming again. The ubiquitous fast food chain reported perkier sales in its most recent quarter, buoyed by deals and other promotions designed to bring wayward customers back into the fold.
In its second quarter ending on June 30, McDonald’s global same-store sales were up 3.8%. At U.S. stores, sales rose 2.5% as the average customer bought more per order, according to the company. The sales numbers beat estimates and reversed four quarters of dropping same-store sales for the fast food giant, which has been scrambling to again make its brand synonymous with a low cost meal.
With inflation still looming and Trump’s unpredictable barrage of tariffs sowing economic uncertainty, McDonald’s is navigating some choppy waters. While everyone eats at McDonald’s to some extent, the company’s business is particularly driven by low-income customers who visit the chain much more often. When menu prices go up, those customers vanish or visit less frequently – and a meaningful chunk of the company’s sales go with them. In the first quarter of 2025, McDonald’s saw its worst sales drop since the lockdown phase of the pandemic kept its customers at home.
“Reengaging the low-income consumer is critical as they typically visit our restaurants more frequently than middle- and high-income consumers,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said on the company’s earnings call, noting that this situation is pronounced in the U.S. “With the low-income consumer, despite improvements in wage gains, real incomes are down… that absolutely is going to put pressure on visits into the [quick-service restaurant] industry.”
Kempczinski mentioned that rising “anxiety and unease” among low-income consumers coupled with real financial shortcomings pressures Americans to spend less. He touted McDonald’s progress on low-cost options for the company’s quarter, but said the split nature of its customer base meant it isn’t out of the woods yet.
McDonald’s menu meets the moment
McDonald’s has quite a few levers to pull to bring once-loyal customers back under the golden arches. A $5 meal deal introduced last year courted cash-strapped customers with a McDouble or McChicken sandwich, a small soft drink, small fries and a four-piece order of nuggets. At the beginning of the year, the chain launched a “Buy One, Add One for $1” option to tack an extra menu item onto an order on the cheap, though that option has proven less enticing than the $5 deal.Â
McDonald’s also saw strong momentum from its Minecraft-themed meals tied to the upcoming film release, which included collectible toys and in-game digital perks—another example of the brand’s growing interest in digital crossovers designed to energize Gen Z diners.
In June, McDonald’s announced the return of the Snack Wrap, an affordable, self-contained snack of legend that customers had been clamoring for ever since it left the menu back in 2016. That $2.99 double shot of affordability and nostalgia whipped Snack Wrap fans into a frenzy, briefly leaving the chain short on lettuce when it hit stores in July.
If the Snack Wrap’s appeal is all about simplicity, McDonald’s is turning to maximalism for another menu experiment. Apparently not deterred by the grisly Grimace shake TikTok trend of 2023, the company will roll out a limited edition candy-colored blue and pink shake in mid-August. The shake’s flavor is a mystery and its appearance is apparently inspired by the topography of McDonaldland, the fantastical home of Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar and Grimace (may he rest in peace)..Â
The new McDonaldland Meal will come with a quarter pounder or 10-piece McNuggets, fries and a collectible souvenir tin that McDonald’s marketing department guarantees is “sure to unlock core memories.”Â
Between the unnatural colors and a mystery flavor designed to inspire reaction videos, McDonald’s latest exercise in synthetic nostalgia is squarely aimed at the younger TikTok crowd – a vital market segment the company needs to court to remain the undisputed king of fast food.Â
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