After a tough 2025, McDonald’s promises better food and faster service. But what’s really changing?

Dubai: McDonald’s plans to improve food quality, speed up restaurant operations and offer customers more personalised experiences under a new global strategy that will shape how its restaurants operate over the coming years.

The fast-food group’s McDonald’s > NEXT strategy will focus on four areas covering menus, customer relationships, restaurant operations and employees, with the company aiming to increase visits while making restaurants easier and more efficient to run.

Customers are expected to see the strategy through improvements to taste and quality, modernised restaurant design, more personalised interactions through McDonald’s loyalty ecosystem and a stronger focus on hospitality.

Menu > NEXT will focus on improving taste and quality while introducing innovation intended to drive customer preference and more visits.

McDonald’s is also targeting a 1.5 percentage point increase in its share of both the chicken and beverage categories by 2030, while maintaining its leadership position in beef.

Consumer > NEXT will use the company’s scale and customer data to further personalise relationships with customers and encourage more frequent visits.

McDonald’s currently serves more than 70 million customers each day and has nearly 220 million active loyalty members over a 90-day period across 70 loyalty markets.

The company said its menu includes 17 brands generating more than $1 billion each.

Restaurant > NEXT will focus on simplifying restaurant operations, modernising design and rolling out GenAI-enabled ArchIQ across the US and International Operated Markets.

McDonald’s expects the changes to generate about 250 basis points of gross restaurant-level efficiency improvements once the NEXT elements are fully deployed.

The company said that level of efficiency is equivalent to roughly $100,000 in annual cash-flow benefits for the average US restaurant, with most of the benefit expected to reach the restaurant’s bottom line over time.

People > NEXT will focus on employees and hospitality, with the company aiming to create a more consistent customer experience and increase repeat visits.

McDonald’s will support the strategy with Make It Golden, a multi-year programme that begins on Founder’s Day on October 5 and will focus on food and hospitality across its system.

McDonald’s plans to provide about $8.5 billion in NEXT partnering support through 2036 to help franchisees fund restaurant modernisation, technology deployment and operational improvements.

Around $5 billion of that support is expected to be provided through 2030 through a combination of rent relief and capital support.

The company estimates that the investments will generate an approximately four-year payback for franchisees after partnering.

McDonald’s operates more than 46,000 restaurants across more than 100 countries, with about 95% of its restaurants owned and operated by independent local business owners.

The company is also targeting an operating margin in the low-to-mid 50% range by 2030, while general and administrative expenses are expected to fall to about 1.9% of systemwide sales.

Unit expansion is expected to contribute nearly 2.5% to systemwide sales growth in 2027, moderating to about 2% by 2030.

McDonald’s expects baseline annual capital expenditure of about $3 billion between 2027 and 2030, based on current foreign exchange rates, along with $1.5 billion to $2 billion in cumulative capital partnering support to accelerate Restaurant > NEXT.