McDonald’s plans 10,000 new stores; partners with Google Cloud
McDonald’s is ramping up its restaurant openings and capital expenditures.
The quick-serve giant on Wednesday detailed new long-terms goals on its Investor Day. The plans include a target of 50,000 restaurants by the end of 2027, with an expected run rate of 1,000 openings across the U.S. and international operated markets during the period. The expansion would mark the fastest period of growth in McDonald’s history.
To reach its target, McDonald’s plans to open approximately 900 U.S. locations, 1,900 restaurants in its international operated markets segment and roughly 7,000 units in its international developmental licensed markets division, reported CNBC.
For 2024, McDonald’s is projecting net new restaurant growth of 4%. After 2024, the company plans to grow its restaurant count by 4% to 5% annually.
McDonald’s is also increasing its capital expenditures. For 2024, the company forecasts about $2.5 billion in capital expenditures, From 2025 through 2027, it expects to increase its capital expenditures by $300 million to $500 million sequentially.
The company also plans to increase the user base of its loyalty program to 250 million active customers by 2027 (up from 150 million currently) as it aims to deliver $45 billion in annual sales from loyalty members. The program currently generates over $20 billion in system-wide sales.
To expedite service of mobile orders, the company will expand its U.S. pilot of “Ready on Arrival” across its top six markets by 2025. The program enables McDonald’s crew members to begin assembling a customer's mobile order prior to their arrival at the restaurant.
Technology
In other plans, McDonald's is partnering with Alphabet’s Google Cloud to connect the latest cloud technology and apply generative AI solutions across its restaurants worldwide to reduce business disruptions and improve overall operations.
“We're excited to see how McDonald's will use our generative AI, cloud, and edge computing tools to improve their iconic dining experience for their employees and their customers all over the world,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet.
In addition, and beginning in 2024, McDonald’s will begin to deploy new, universal software that all of the company’s customer and restaurant digital platforms will run on. The custome operating system will enable restaurants to roll out innovation even faster, with less complexity and more stability, McDonald’s said.
McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with over 40,000 locations in over 100 countries.