US The McRecession hits fast food chains - America is dead.

Article / Archive
22 hours ago - Business
Nathan Bomey, Kelly Tyko

Call it the McRecession.

The big picture: Low- and middle-income consumers are increasingly shying away from fast-food restaurants like McDonald's, a sign that people are pinching pennies amid recession fears.

• The number of low-income consumers visiting U.S. fast-food restaurants was down "nearly double digits" in the year's first three months compared to 2024, McDonald's CEO Christopher Kempczinski said Thursday.
• Visits from middle-income consumers across the industry "fell nearly as much," he added.

Zoom out: Concerns about job losses and fears about price hikes from President Trump's tariffs have fueled what Conference Board senior economist Stephanie Guichard recently called "pervasive pessimism about the future."

• And that's translated into fewer people coming through the door at McDonald's and other fast-food restaurants.
• "Economic pressure on traffic has broadened," Kempczinski said. "I think we are seeing that people are just being more judicious about cutting back on visits."
• One way the trend is manifesting: People are skipping breakfast "or they're choosing to eat at home," Kempczinski said.

Threat level: Signs of a fast-food slowdown are spreading.

• U.S. comparable sales fell 3.6% at McDonald's, the company's worst showing since the pandemic.
• Starbucks' comparable sales declined 1% in the quarter, the coffee giant announced Wednesday, its fifth consecutive quarterly decline.
• Domino's Pizza said consumers are gravitating from more expensive delivery options to cheaper carryout.
• And Wingstop CEO Michael Skipworth flagged "a meaningful pullback in our business" in "specific pockets," including Hispanic customers and "lower middle income" consumers.

Meanwhile, data from Placer.ai, which analyzes customer activity, shows visits fell 1.4% across the overall dining segment in the first quarter, with quick-service and fast-casual chains seeing a 1.4% drop.

• Chipotle's comparable restaurant sales decreased 0.4% in the first quarter of 2025 — its first decline since COVID lockdowns in 2020.

Yes, but: The slowdown isn't happening everywhere.

• Taco Bell is on a roll. The Yum Brands chain posted a U.S. comp sales increase of 9% in its most recent quarter.
• Chris Turner, Yum Brands chief financial and franchise officer, credited Taco Bell's expansion of luxe value boxes as delivering "exceptional value across income levels, with the $5 Luxe box becoming a massive win with low-income consumers."

• Taco Bell's reputation for value, however, could also be exacerbating the trend for competitors, as consumers look to treat themselves at a lower cost. The chain is "well positioned to navigate this environment... with an opportunity to take share from higher-priced competitors," Turner said Wednesday.

What to watch: Restaurants will continue to focus on value menus, adding new items and limited-time offerings to bring consumers back in.

• Kempczinski said the launch of new chicken strips and the upcoming return of snack wraps should help McDonald's improve.
• McDonald's CFO Ian Borden said the company may adjust its current McValue offerings over time but that for the rest of 2025 will "continue to include everyday value meal deals starting at $5."

 

[John Badman]

Holy shit dude I've made 40 grand in the last 5 days, if you're still under cost basis in this rally you better close your fucking robinhood account now, before people like me finish eating you alive. Thanks for your money, I guess. As Jordan Belfort once said - I know how to spend it better than you anyway.

Bragging often precedes begging. I don’t know why you’d quote a fraudster.

White teen Americans, the spics didn’t arrive until Biden. Thankfully high property prices and high HOA fees keep them from living in my town. And I can mow my own damn lawn.

You’re actually delusional if you think a spic wasn’t taking your order under Bush. And you can thank Reagan if you hate them so much.

 

[Cybertonia]

Bragging often precedes begging. I don’t know why you’d quote a fraudster.

I'm not bragging, I'm giving you a warning. If you're actually taking the long side of an options leg then you're quite literally giving your money to me and all the other professionals. Stop, and actually learn about the mathematics behind derivatives. It's rigged against you, by design.

 

[John Badman]

I'm not bragging, I'm giving you a warning. If you're actually taking the long side of an options leg then you're quite literally giving your money to me and all the other professionals. Stop, and actually learn about the mathematics behind derivatives. It's rigged against you, by design.

I know what Dxf means. What does ∂ mean? Or even just explain how to draw the transition matrix P from a Markov chain for Ω = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} with X equivalent to the set of (X0, X1, …, Xt, …) ∈ Ω you gay little monkey.

 

[Migraine Box]

I went to a Chili’s last Wednesday with friends and ended up paying $57 for a burger and 2 beers. Also their ribs suck.

The most expensive burger on their menu is an enormous double patty one and even then it's less than $20. Unless you're MovieBob-tiers of cripplingly obese and ordered two, you're pulling shit out your ass

 

[John Badman]

The most expensive burger on their menu is an enormous double patty one and even then it's less than $20. Unless you're MovieBob-tiers of cripplingly obese and ordered two, you're pulling shit out your ass

I’m body positive

 

[Osama Bin Laden]

Have you ever been to a McDonald’s? They don’t outsource their ordering to jeets or AI.

they outsource them to niggers

 

[Look--an Alien!]

I dont understand anyone who still eats overpriced, seed-oil filled goyslop from fast food chains. The immoral response to higher costs is grotesque, and none of these pricks deserve a customer base. They KNOW what they are putting in the food, they KNOW it causes cancer and untold human illness, and they do it anyway

 

[Smokeski]

Based. First the wetbacks get targeted, now the goyslop is catching strays. Great day to be alive.

 

[Yamaha YM2612]

Making America healthy again. Just another fulfilled campaign promise

Now, I know OP hates the idea of corporations having less money but he needs to stop being a church and get on the right side of history

You mean… brown teen Americans? They’re Mexican buddy. They also cut your lawn.

Nigger, I cut my own lawn and if I need something bigger done to the landscaping, I hire whites or even blacks. No Mexicans, eat shit, hitler touth

 

[Mr.Bucket]

Be fully honest. More specifically - they had to stop their rollout of AI ordering because it was so universally terrible and fucked up orders so often.

That's saying something, cuz the overpaid black people that work at the ones here constantly fuck things up.

At least that was back when I went there... which has been years at this point because of how costly it has got.

I can get pickup carryout at real restaurants for less than what most fast food places charge for a meal these days.

$13 for a fried fish meal at Cheddars or almost $20 for subway? Easy choice.

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The big picture: Low- and middle-income consumers are increasingly shying away from fast-food restaurants like McDonald's, a sign that people are pinching pennies amid recession fears.

Bullshit. People are tired of paying almost $6.00 for a fucking single big mac that, half the time, looks like the ingredients were put in the box and shaken violently before being handed to you. This has been going on since 2020 and just getting worse and worse. Your order is usually wrong to some degree and the food is terrible. While at the same time, the price has gone up to the point where you might as well go to a fast-casual for a couple bucks more and count on getting marginally better prepared food.

We quit going to fastfood places when we started paying over $30 for two people and shit was missing and cold 90% of the time. This was a while ago too. Fuck that. The large chains need to either fix their shit or die.

 

[quaawaa]

It has nothing to do with Americans not liking fast food. In-N-Out, Chick-fil-a, and many other smaller fast food chains are booming with lines out the door.

Both are now around the same price as McDonald’s (which wasn’t always the case), but they have nice clean seating areas, friendly staff, and higher quality food.

 

[CornBogFitz]

how are corpo fags panicking at something like a 1% drop? could losses be subsidized by perhaps not paying the CEO a bajillion dollars? how can we be sure this is because of terrifs and not because the $5 foot long was in living fucking memory? yeah im not paying $12 for a McMeal chief. Chat GBT already cracked the krabby patty secret formula

 

[The-Mad-Asshatter]

I dont understand anyone who still eats overpriced, seed-oil filled goyslop from fast food chains. The immoral response to higher costs is grotesque, and none of these pricks deserve a customer base. They KNOW what they are putting in the food, they KNOW it causes cancer and untold human illness, and they do it anyway

Convenience and low cost has led to the ruin and death of many people, if it means they don't have to get off their butts and cook.

 

[Fred Herbert]

People stopped going to fast food places because the shitheads in charge jacked up the price, reduced portions and destroyed the service experience (which was fairly low, just food right, on time and not cold ffs). They did this not because inflation or tariffs, but because the penny pinching greedy little fucks must have infinite growth, the line must always go up no matter the cost.

Now their avarice will be their undoing. Lol.

 

[Boss Hawg]

You have to been rich to eat at these shitholes, hell I can eat a better meal at Applebees or some chain-sit down joint cheaper than McDonald’s. These fast food places are still living off the Covid high and haven’t dropped their prices back down. Fuck em, let em go bankrupt and shutdown.

 

[TheRedChair]

As stated for many years on this site I saved a shitload of money by cooking my own food and buying in bulk.

Due to the Coof and pretty much forced to stay at home by or comminust government, I pretty much took my food account and geared up to eat.

End result as stated before is... in 4+ years (2020-2024) I've saved over $82,500 by not going to the fast foods and restaurants.

To break it down in simple terms In 2020, $50+ per day was allocated for my wife and I to go out and eat. It was one of our luxuries as we had the money to spend. However you will tend to forget how much money you spend on just eating out.

I did. As I have stated before I'm well off and this became something you do with your wife. To eat out and relax at certain places or to grab something fast because you were busy.

It was an eye opener for the first year and with the help of a salvaged freezer I repaired not only I eat better (As posted many of the times I've cooked meals) I put that money back into my portfolio.

AND make money off of it. As stated before I took advantage of the high inflation rates, The Putin War (with oil prices) commodities, and so on (remember do your research before investing).

As stated before You make money by saving money then you invest wisely.

Because of the nonsense of the Biden years I've stopped eating out and make my meals at home.

Just like my grand parents did and taught me.

Do I eat fast food now? Only if I have too. Taco Bell is one I like to go too. But that's like 1-3 times a month if that.

But by not eating out all of the time, I regularly eat my Prime Rib & Shrimp I cook myself. So it's an uprade.

And heh... that repaired 40 year old Chest Freezer still works. One of the best investments I ever made.

 

[Mr.Bucket]

You have to been rich to eat at these shitholes, hell I can eat a better meal at Applebees or some chain-sit down joint cheaper than McDonald’s. These fast food places are still living off the Covid high and haven’t dropped their prices back down. Fuck em, let em go bankrupt and shutdown.

You just reminded me of when Burger King had a 2 for $5 deal. It was great. Now it's like $2 for almost $10. I stopped going there ever since despite BK's non-stop constant e-mails trying to get me to go back.

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I know what Dxf means. What does ∂ mean? Or even just explain how to draw the transition matrix P from a Markov chain for Ω = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} with X equivalent to the set of (X0, X1, …, Xt, …) ∈ Ω you gay little monkey.

Why do you not have a pink triangle?

 

[Clotso Coof]

Do you guys still see spic teens mowing lawns? All the yard workers in my area are middle aged.

I never see a teen brown male with a job anymore, and I rarely see the 20-somethings doing manual labor either. Hispanic men under 30 sometimes work in restaurants, but that's the only place I see them. It's weird.

Chick-fil-a, and many other smaller fast food chains are booming with lines out the door.

The Chick-fil-a near me is always slammed. I've seen the drive through line wrapped around the building twice like a traffic maze.