McDonald’s bets $8.5 billion on a sweeping restaurant makeover and new
protein-focused menu
[September 24, 2026] By
DEE-ANN DURBIN
McDonald’s said Wednesday it will spend $8.5 billion over the next
decade to modernize its restaurants globally.
Fast-food traffic in many markets, including the U.S., is flat, so for
McDonald’s to continue to grow it has to grab share from competitors and
improve restaurant productivity, McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris
Kempczinski said at a meeting with investors at the company’s Chicago
headquarters. McDonald's wants to automate more tasks, like inventory
and scheduling, and improve kitchen operations.
“The winners will be the companies that create more demand and deliver
it more efficiently,” Kempczinski said.
McDonald's shares fell nearly 5% Wednesday, their largest percentage
drop since April 2025, as investors shuddered at the eye-popping price
of improving McDonald's 46,000 global stores.
On the product side, McDonald's said hand-breaded chicken, which has
rolled out at 10,000 restaurants in Asia and a handful of restaurants
near Chicago, has boosted sales and quality ratings. Many of McDonald's
competitors, like Chick-fil-A and KFC, offer hand-breaded chicken. The
company plans to expand its testing to more markets in the U.S. and
Ireland next year.
McDonald's also plans to introduce grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps
in the U.S. and other markets and experiment with products like egg
bites and bowls to meet the needs of customers who are seeking more
protein and varied portion sizes.
Skye Anderson, the president of McDonald’s USA, said approximately 30
million Americans are now using GLP-1 weight loss drugs, and they’re
seeking smaller, more protein-packed meals as a result. But the
company’s research indicates that 60 million Americans are actively
seeking more protein in their diet.
“This is an opportunity. We need to keep giving them more reasons to
make McDonald’s their first choice,” Anderson said at McDonald’s
investor day.
McDonald’s said the restaurant modernizations include lockers to handle
delivery orders, more visible coffee preparation areas to enhance
quality perceptions, bigger play areas and improved kitchen layouts.
Scales to help ensure order accuracy – which are already in use at
10,000 restaurants globally – will be in 20,000 restaurants by 2028,
McDonald’s said.
The company is deploying its ArchIQ system, developed with Google, that
improves order accuracy with artificial intelligence and automates tasks
like inventory management and scheduling. Archy, the company's
AI-enabled drive-thru ordering system, is now capable of taking orders
in Spanish and English with a 90% accuracy rate.
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 Archy could eventually reduce at
least 50 labor hours per week in a typical McDonald's, Chief
Financial Officer Ian Borden said. But he said the intention is not
to reduce staffing. Instead, employees can focus more on hospitality
or on tasks like hand-breading chicken.
Kempczinski said customers have responded positively to Archy in
testing because it helps make their orders more accurate.
“It's not AI is bad or AI is good. We try to be really thoughtful
about how we use it,” he said.
McDonald's is also rolling out new employee training that will focus
on hospitality and food quality, said Tiffanie Boyd, McDonald's
chief people officer. The training will be more experience-based,
showing employees what a perfectly cooked Big Mac tastes like, for
example, and will encourage more pleasant interactions with
customers.
At the same time, McDonald's is still focused on value. Kempczinski
said low-income consumers, defined as U.S. households making $45,000
or less, continue to go out for fast food but not as often as they
used to. McDonald's has done a good job with meal bundles, like its
$5 meal deal, he said. But the company is exploring ways to offer
entry-level prices on a basic menu of items in the U.S., as it does
in Europe and other markets.
“This is the environment that we’re in right now. You have to be on
your game and deliver that value,” Kempczinski said. “The pressure
around cost of living isn't going away.”
McDonald’s U.S. franchisees typically spend up to $450,000 per
decade on required store remodels. Under the company’s new plan,
they will have to spend an additional $800,000 over time, but
McDonald’s will pay a portion of that cost in the form of rent
relief and capital support.
Borden said the investments will be phased in over time when markets
and individual franchisees are ready for them. Once the investments
are made, the efficiency improvements will deliver roughly $100,000
in annual cash flow benefits to the average U.S. restaurant, some of
which can be reinvested in the restaurant, Borden said.
“We'd love to see it going into hospitality to elevate the
experience with our customers,” Borden said.
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