McDonald’s plans to provide approximately $8.5 billion in support to franchisees through 2036 as it rolls out a strategy to modernize restaurants, improve operations, and win more visits. About $5 billion of that support is expected by 2030, delivered through a combination of rent relief and capital support.
The commitment is part of McDonald’s > NEXT, a strategy the company outlined Wednesday ahead of an investor update. It pairs restaurant upgrades with menu, marketing, and hospitality initiatives. McDonald’s says the work could produce roughly $100,000 in annual cash flow benefits for the average U.S. restaurant once the planned improvements are fully deployed.
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The company is targeting about 250 basis points of gross restaurant-level efficiency gains across its U.S. and International Operated Markets. McDonald’s estimates franchisees will see an approximately four-year payback on their investments after receiving company support. The majority of the projected cash flow benefit is expected to reach restaurants’ bottom lines over time.
“McDonald’s has the unmatched scale, customer insights, brand loyalty, and operational capabilities to not only adapt to the next wave of change in our industry, but to turn it into an advantage,” chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement.
The restaurant portion of NEXT calls for simpler operations, updated designs, more consistent execution, and deployment of ArchIQ, a system McDonald’s describes as enabled by generative AI. Individual markets will determine how to sequence the work based on local needs and franchisee capacity.
Beyond the restaurants themselves, McDonald’s aims to improve food quality and introduce menu innovation to attract more visits. It also plans to use customer data to personalize its relationships with guests and put a greater emphasis on hospitality from employees.
A related, multiyear initiative called Make It Golden begins October 5, bringing the system together around food and service standards.
McDonald’s set targets to gain 1.5 percentage points of market share in both chicken and beverages by 2030 while maintaining its leadership position in beef. The company did not specify which products or changes would drive those gains, although the QSR giant has poured into innovation, including recent releases like its new mixed beverage lineup and Spicy McNuggets.
The strategy comes with new financial goals. McDonald’s expects its operating margin to reach the low-to-mid 50 percent range by 2030. It projects sales from restaurant expansion will contribute nearly 2.5 percent to systemwide sales growth in 2027, moderating to about 2 percent by 2030.
From 2027 through 2030, the company expects about $3 billion in baseline annual capital expenditures, plus a cumulative $1.5 billion to $2 billion in capital support to accelerate restaurant upgrades. McDonald’s also targets general and administrative expenses of about 1.9 percent of systemwide sales and free cash flow conversion in the mid-to-high 80 percent range by 2030.
McDonald’s operates more than 46,000 restaurants worldwide, approximately 95 percent of them owned and operated by independent local business owners. The company says it serves more than 70 million customers daily and has nearly 220 million loyalty members active within the past 90 days across 70 markets.
