McDonald’s To Grow Unit Count at Fastest Pace Ever

Today, McDonald’s announced new growth targets for its Accelerating the Arches strategic plan.

To start, McDonald’s aims to expand to 50,000 restaurants by the end of 2027. The goal marks the fastest period of growth in company history, it states, with an expected run rate of 1,000 gross openings across the U.S. and international-operated markets in 2027.

McDonald’s also announced in the release it has formed a partnership with a cloud technology company to connect the latest cloud technology and apply generative AI solutions across its restaurants worldwide.

“This will help accelerate automation innovation from equipment manufacturers and allow restaurant general managers to quickly spot and enact solutions to reduce business disruptions,” the company states. “Overall, this will also reduce complexity for crew and lead to customer benefits such as hotter, fresher food.”

An additional highlight includes McDonald’s plan to expand the U.S. pilot of its Ready On Arrival initiative, which allows employees to begin assembling a customer’s mobile order prior to their arrival at the restaurant. The initiative helps speed service and boost customer service. McDonald’s also says it aims to gain share of the growing chicken category and that the size of its “chicken business is on par with beef.”

In other McDonald’s news, the company announced over the summer its plans to test a new, small-format concept called CosMc’s in early 2024.