E.coli and price cuts eat away at McDonald’s US sales

McDonald’s saw its quarterly results suffer from the effects of an E.coli outbreak and price cuts in the United States. On the other side, there were stronger-than-expected performances in the Middle East and Japan.

Under pressure

An E.coli outbreak in October, which caused food poisoning to more than 100 American customers, weighed on McDonald’s quarterly results. Price cuts also had an impact: the fast-food giant launched a low-cost menu to win back customers, which increased the number of visits but reduced spending per trip.

That resulted comparable sales to drop 1.4% in the US, the biggest drop in almost five years. However, a better-than-expected performance in international markets earned the company a 4.1 % growth abroad. Added together, total quarterly sales grew 0.4 %.

For the whole of 2024, McDonald’s sales grew 2 % to 25.9 billion dollars (25 billion euros). Net profit dropped slightly, however: from 8.5 billion dollars in 2023 to 8.2 billion in 2024. The company expects difficulties to continue in 2025, as there is little room for price increases. Growth will have to come from low-cost menus and promotions.