McDonald’s sales rise, but CEO expects low-income diners to spend less into next year

McDonald’s on Wednesday fell short of Wall Street’s earnings expectations, but the company’s U.S. restaurants reported better-than-expected same-store sales growth.

CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement that the results are “a testament to our ability to deliver sustainable growth even in a challenging environment.”

For more than a year, McDonald’s, long considered a bellwether for the financial health of consumers, has been sounding the alarm about a pullback in restaurant spending, particularly from low-income diners. That downturn continued during the third quarter.

“We continue to see a bifurcated consumer base with [quick-service restaurant] traffic from lower income consumers declining nearly double digits in the third quarter, a trend that’s persisted for nearly two years,” Kempczinski said on the company’s conference call. “In contrast, QSR traffic growth among higher income consumers remains strong, increasing nearly double digits in the quarter.”

He added that McDonald’s is projecting that the pressure on consumers’ financial health will continue well into 2026.

Shares of the company rose more than 3% in morning trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $3.22 adjusted vs. $3.33 expected

Revenue: $7.08 billion vs. $7.1 billion expected

The fast-food giant reported third-quarter net income of $2.28 billion, or $3.18 per share, up from $2.26 billion, or $3.13 per share, a year earlier. McDonald’s saw a higher effective tax rate during the quarter, which weighed on its earnings.

Excluding restructuring charges and other items, the burger chain earned $3.22 per share.

Revenue rose 3% to $7.08 billion.