McDonald’s U.S. Comparable Sales Slip 0.2% Despite Higher Quarterly Profit

McDonald’s reported a 0.2% decline in U.S. comparable sales for the third quarter of 2026, even as its net income increased 9% to $2.49 billion. Fewer visits to established U.S. restaurants continued to weigh on the business, but higher spending per visit helped offset much of the weakness.

The results, released Wednesday, drew a distinction between demand at the chain’s existing American restaurants and the earnings of the company as a whole. Global comparable sales rose 1.5%, helped by international markets, while consolidated revenue increased 1% to $7.16 billion. Diluted earnings per share reached $3.51, up from $3.18 a year earlier.

Fewer U.S. visits outweighed higher average checks

The domestic comparable-sales decline followed a 2.4% increase in the same quarter last year. McDonald’s said U.S. comparable guest counts were negative, with a rise in average check size largely offsetting the reduction in visits. The company did not provide a specific U.S. traffic percentage in its third-quarter earnings announcement.

Comparable sales measure sales performance at restaurants that have operated for at least 13 months, including franchised locations. They are intended to show how the established restaurant base is performing without simply counting revenue from newly opened units. A higher average check can reflect changes in menu prices or what customers order, so it does not necessarily mean more people are coming through the doors.

Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski said McDonald’s had seen improvement in the U.S. as the quarter progressed following steps to reinforce value. The release did not quantify the improvement month by month or establish that comparable guest counts had turned positive by September. The distinction is important because a smaller decline in sales is encouraging, but it is not the same as a demonstrated recovery in visits.

The U.S. business also looked different when viewed through the company’s reported revenue categories. Revenue from U.S. franchised restaurants increased 2% to $1.94 billion, while sales at company-operated U.S. restaurants fell 6% to $742 million. Those figures should not be confused with the 0.2% comparable-sales decline: franchised revenue is chiefly rent and royalties collected by McDonald’s, rather than the full sales made to customers at those restaurants.

McDonald’s had 13,821 U.S. restaurants at the end of September, compared with 13,633 a year earlier. The larger restaurant base helps explain why total business measures and established-store comparisons need not move together. It does not, however, remove the challenge posed by fewer customer visits at comparable locations.

Net income rose as franchise margins and other gains strengthened

Quarterly net income increased to $2.486 billion from $2.278 billion, a gain of $208 million. Operating income rose 7% to $3.60 billion, outpacing the 1% increase in revenue. McDonald’s reported $4.49 billion in franchised restaurant revenue globally, up 3%, compared with $2.48 billion in sales from company-operated restaurants, down 3%.

The profit improvement was not simply the result of stronger restaurant sales. According to the company’s supplemental earnings filing with the SEC, franchised restaurant margins rose to $3.80 billion from $3.70 billion. The company also recorded $139 million in net other operating income, compared with $37 million in the year-earlier period.

That latter increase included larger gains from sales of restaurant businesses, primarily reflecting more restaurant sales in the United States. Gains from those sales totaled $97 million, compared with $35 million a year earlier. McDonald’s also cited higher earnings from unconsolidated affiliates, including improved restaurant performance in China, and greater gains on disposals of excess properties. These items helped earnings even though U.S. comparable sales slipped.

Costs and adjustments also affected the comparison. Selling, general and administrative expenses fell about $25 million from the year-earlier quarter, which the company attributed mainly to higher spending on marketing initiatives in the previous year. The latest results included $56 million in pretax charges, principally related to its ongoing restructuring program, compared with $39 million a year earlier.

After excluding the specified restructuring-related items in both periods, adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 11% to $3.57 from $3.22. The unadjusted figure increased 10%. The gap between those measures is worth preserving: the adjusted result removes certain charges for comparability, while the reported profit includes them.

International markets supported growth as expansion continued

Outside the United States, established restaurants generally delivered sales growth. Comparable sales rose 1.4% in McDonald’s International Operated Markets, where Germany and Australia led gains and France was a partial offset. International Developmental Licensed Markets posted a 4.2% increase, led by Japan, with negative comparable sales in China tempering the result.

Those performances produced a 1.5% rise in worldwide comparable sales. The figure was below the 3.6% increase recorded in the year-earlier quarter, but it remained positive despite the U.S. decline. McDonald’s also reported that global systemwide sales, which include sales made by franchisees, increased 4% to more than $38 billion.

The company’s loyalty programs remained an important measure of customer engagement. Sales to loyalty members across 70 markets exceeded $11 billion during the quarter and reached $41 billion over the trailing 12 months. These figures cover sales linked to identified loyalty members, not revenue recognized by McDonald’s itself, and should not be treated as a separate addition to reported corporate revenue.

The franchise structure is central to understanding the difference. About 95% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are operated by independent franchisees or licensees, so much of the money customers spend flows through those businesses before McDonald’s recognizes its portion as rent, royalties and fees. The company had 46,554 restaurants worldwide at the end of September, up from 44,599 a year earlier.

McDonald’s expects net restaurant expansion to contribute approximately 2.5% to full-year systemwide sales growth in constant currencies. It anticipates about 2,500 gross restaurant openings and roughly 2,100 net additions during 2026, alongside capital expenditures of approximately $3.7 billion. These are company forecasts rather than completed results. The expansion targets highlight why growth from new locations can continue even when sales at comparable U.S. restaurants are soft.

McDonald’s also declared a 4% increase in its quarterly cash dividend to $1.93 per share. That shareholder payout and the higher quarterly earnings underscore the financial strength shown in the report, but the domestic comparable-sales data still leave a specific operational question: whether the value measures cited by management can translate into more customer visits, rather than relying mainly on larger checks.