McDonald’s has beaten Wall Street’s profit expectations for the third quarter, but the world’s largest fast-food chain is still waiting for American diners to come back in force.
The Chicago-based company reported adjusted earnings of $3.57 per share for the three months to the end of September, comfortably above the $3.38 analysts had expected. Revenue rose 1% from a year earlier to $7.16 billion, though that fell short of the $7.29 billion consensus forecast.
The split between profit and sales tells the story of a consumer under pressure. Comparable sales at US restaurants open for at least 13 months slipped 0.2%, as lower guest counts outweighed higher prices. It extends a run of softness at home, where lower-income customers in particular have grown more selective about discretionary spending.
International markets did the heavy lifting. Global comparable sales rose 1.5%, ahead of the 1.3% analysts had pencilled in. The International Developmental Licensed Markets division, which includes China and Japan, posted comparable sales growth of 4.2%, a sharp contrast with the domestic decline.
Chief executive Chris Kempczinski pointed to improving trends as the quarter progressed, crediting value-focused initiatives introduced after a weak start to the period. At an investor day in September, executives had warned that same-store sales in July and August were negative, but expected September to return to growth.
Net income rose 9% to $2.49 billion, or $3.51 per share, from $2.28 billion a year earlier, helped by higher franchised margins and other operating income. The company also declared a 4% increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.93 per share.
The results make McDonald’s a bellwether for the wider US consumer: resilient enough to protect profits through franchising and cost control, but still exposed to households counting every dollar. Investors appeared to take the profit beat at face value, with shares rising in premarket trading after the release.
Sources: McDonald’s Corporation, “McDonald’s Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results” (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mcdonalds-reports-third-quarter-2026-results-302928424.html); Invezz, “McDonald’s earnings hide a key story about consumer spending” (https://invezz.com/news/2026/11/04/mcdonalds-earnings-hide-a-key-story-about-consumer-spending/).
