McDonald's CEO warns: 2025 will be another challenging year

McDonald's is preparing for 2025 to cope with potential challenges. On October 11th, Eastern Time, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski warned at the Chief Executive Club event at Boston College that low-income customers will still face economic pressures at the end of this year and the beginning of 2025. Kempczinski mentioned that McDonald's is starting to consider plans for 2025, telling the team to prepare for another challenging year and ensure a strong value proposition in all markets. In June of this year, McDonald's launched a $5 combo meal aimed at meeting the needs of low-income and middle-income customers struggling with high inflation and high interest rates. This combo includes a McDouble or a McChicken sandwich, 4 chicken nuggets, small fries, and a small drink. Due to the popularity of the value meal among customers, McDonald's decided to extend the meal promotion until the end of the year. However, Kempczinski mentioned that the combo may be adjusted again. Previously, McDonald's reported in July that its quarterly same-store sales had declined for the first time in nearly four years due to weakening consumer willingness to spend. Data for that month also showed that consumers were increasingly overdrawing credit cards, with credit card debt unexpectedly soaring to the largest increase since January, leading to a surge of nearly $27 billion in consumer credit outstanding, marking the largest monthly increase since 2022. For low-income families, the economic situation will only become more difficult by the end of this year. Goldman Sachs' latest consumer report shows that, after surveying 2,000 consumers, many are starting to seek more cost-effective options due to the challenging economic conditions. Looking ahead, McDonald's will release its third-quarter financial report on October 29th. Some analysts believe that tensions in the Middle East may push up oil prices, potentially leading to inflation in the United States