"Outnumbered" discusses Trump @ McDonald's - YouTube - eight min.
October 22, 2024
October 21, 2024
October 20, 2024
Trump Now One in Eight
Well, I was right; that was fun. We'll see if it has any long-term impacts. For now, McDonald's is the official restaurant of the Trump campaign, and you'll never know how many Harris supporters will pass McDonald's and pull into a competitor's drive-thru.
Now that the event appears to have short-term positives, Joe E. has jumped on the bandwagon and published a letter making it sound like it was his idea. That's kind of sad. And whoever on Joe's long list of support staff thinks that Kamamala Harris would copy Trump and also spend some time in a McDonald's is way, way overpaid.
So, I'll remain glad that Trump pulled off a political coup but apprehensive about the long-term impacts on the McDonald's system.
October 19, 2024
You're on Fries Mr Trump
This sounds like fun, so I may be jealous, but it could backfire with international repercussions. McDonald's dodged a bullet in Israel with an ownership change, but these days it's risky to have a potential U.S. President appear to have a favorite global restaurant brand. Plus, McDonald's USA serves millions of Democrats every day.
Isn't this contrary to the Election Season guidelines published earlier this year?
October 18, 2024
October 16, 2024
Harris Asks for Job Back at McDonald's
Immediately after leaving the Fox News interview, Kamala Harris called McDonald’s to see if she could, by chance, get her old job back.
October 14, 2024
October 12, 2024
All I Know is What I Read in the Wall Street Journal
The WSJ's coverage of McDonald's lawsuit against various beef suppliers includes the following partial sentence: "Eligible franchisees could receive a portion of recovered funds or a credit toward future purchases."
* What is an "Eligible" franchisee? * Aren't they all?
* Are there McDonald's Operators in the USA who don't sell beef products?
* Who ultimately paid for the finished product delivered to the restaurants?
October 10, 2024
October 9, 2024
McDonald's Corp Sues Meat Suppliers
Allegedly conspiring to fix the price of beef
Occasionally, McDonald’s Corp. gets a little slap-happy with litigation. Like a hammer thinking everything looks like a nail, the legal department thinks every corporate challenge looks like a possible lawsuit.
This “management by bullying” peaked in the late 1990s when the company was suing everyone and threatening every Owner/Operator. Part of the problem was that one of McDonald’s directors was a prominent Chicago attorney who was a partner at a prominent Chicago law firm. Conveniently, said firm handled most of the company’s litigation.
This compulsion fizzled out around the turn of the century with all the changes in CEOs and directors.
If they give a pajama boy an unlimited legal budget, it can be a control freak’s dream. Let’s hope not.
October 5, 2024
National Companies Running From DEI
- The list grows - Molson Coors, Ford Motor Co, John Deere, Lowe's, Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply Co. and more.
- Toyota latest company to move away from DEI
October 3, 2024
September 28, 2024
.jpeg)
MCD Shares Break Records
Back in June, we discussed, with some alarm, that McDonald's share price had drifted down to the mid-$200 range.
Is anyone watching the MCD stock price? - 6/18/24
We should now recognize that the MCD share price has finally topped $300 over the past week, driven by market momentum and an announced increase in the MCD dividend.
However, in the longer term, the increase comes from investors' confidence that McDonald's Owner/Operators will continue to follow corporate discounting plans.
Congratulations to MCD shareholders.
September 27, 2024
September 21, 2024
This is a Very Bad Idea!
President Donald Trump has a lot of good ideas - this isn't one of them.
Reviewing "Best Practices for Owner/Operators navigating election season" Operators are told "As a company we do not support just one candidate or one political party. We support policies that advance the business interests of our organization and enable our license to operate".
Much of this manual is heavy-handed, but this portion is good strategy. Nothing like this could be conducted properly or constructively. It's one thing for Trump to pop into a Chick-fil-A and buy everyone lunch, but that's not an event sponsored by Chick-fil-A corporate or its licensee. Kamala Harris can stop at a 7-11 for some Doritos but it's not a 71-1 corporate event.
Even if only 30% of McDonald's USA customers are hardcore Democrats, that's a lot of business to risk.
September 19, 2024
September 17, 2024
Are We Done With McHarris?
This is one last post about the Kamala Harris and McDonald's issue. It seems to have run its course, and I'm told she isn't going to use McDonald's in her commercials anymore. That doesn't mean Trump/Vance won't still mention it, but probably with less frequency. It is disappointing that news reporters in their 20s and 30s expect businesses to produce employment records from forty years ago. Of course, if Kamala hadn't ever worked at McDonald's, there would be nothing to reveal.
Harris touts her time working at McDonald's. Will it help? - LA Times
September 14, 2024
September 13, 2024
September 12, 2024
September 11, 2024
September 10, 2024
September 6, 2024
September 4, 2024
Former McDonald's VP Makes Good
It doesn't happen that often that a former McDonald's exec goes on to a successful position elsewhere. Debbie Stroud appears to be the exception.
Whataburger CEO retiring - Stroud takes post - Rest Business
https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-stroud-88149540/details/experience/
September 3, 2024
Life is Political - Like it or Not
Kamala Harris' claim that she once worked for McDonald's continues to attract considerable attention. So far, McDonald's Corp. has responded with "no comment." While this is dangerous ground because no corporate favor can be shown to any candidate, isn't this a chance to reinforce the fallacy of the Joint Employer concept?
Shouldn't one of the pajama boys be able to put together a statement that says, "These people don't work for us, and we know nothing about them?" And/or "We don't keep records of franhiceee's employees?"
A proper nonpartisan statement would be better than leaving the questions hanging, which only allows the media to speculate that McDonald's Corp. is hiding something.
McDonald's is getting a lot of attention on the campaign trail - Yahoo
September 2, 2024
High End Burger Chains Struggling
And McDonald's management is focused on testing a larger, more expensive hamburger?
August 29, 2024
Who Actually Owns McDonald's?
It's good to review these numbers once in a while - Yahoo Finance
Insiders? - Less than one percent of outstanding shares
August 28, 2024
Does Taxing "Unrealized Gains" Include Business Equity?
This $100 million excludes many people, but it gets the government involved in measuring a citizen's level of wealth. Where else do they do that? Your bank does it - does the IRS? This takes me back to Trump's first Presidential campaign when the liberal media was frantic to get hold of his tax returns. They thought they could determine his net worth from his returns.
For taxpayers with $100 million in total wealth - CATO Institute
August 25, 2024
August 23, 2024
August 21, 2024
August 19, 2024
August 16, 2024
Raise Wages and Energy and Then Complain About Inflation
There are only a few baby steps between government controlling grocery store prices and government controlling restaurant menu prices.
Price controls could create more problems than they solve - CNN
August 14, 2024
August 13, 2024
Wall Street Journal on McDonald's Politics
The WSJ looks at McDonald's Owner's recent lobbying attempts, apparently directed by a guy named Gonda. Warning - paywall.
August 12, 2024
August 10, 2024
August 8, 2024
Go Big or ???
Peter Romeo from Restaurant Business with a 10 minute podcast about McDonald's history. One correction, if I heard him right he has the McDLT after the Arch Deluxe. Actually, the McDLT was introduced in the 1980s, the Arch Deluxe was from the mid-1990s.
Otherwise, it's very educational if you are being asked to invest in a new product.
August 5, 2024
August 1, 2024
McBears and Bulls
Some have observed that we've been paying a little more attention to the stock market lately, particularly McDonald's (MCD) shares. That would be correct.
Over the decades, when McDonald's was a growth company, the factors that impacted the MCD share price have been numerous and complex. Be it new products, more new stores, fewer new stores, drive-thrus, playplaces, promotions, pandemics, etc.
But these days, it's pretty simple. The most important thing will be same-store sales in the United States. International markets will play a part, but Wall Street will judge the company's performance based on what happens in the USA. It's doubtful new products will be a factor, and major remodels will be impossible to sell, so it comes down to one thing - how much discounting will domestic Owners/Operators be willing to accept?
It will be easy to draw a straight line between U.S. same-store sales and MCD share price. It's going to be a simpler but more interesting time.
July 31, 2024
Big Arch Included in the $5.00 Meal?
However, investors demand a new product pipeline and this will keep them satisfied for a while. Very few MCD watchers understand that the system can't sell high-end products while distracting customers with deep discounts.
July 29, 2024
July 28, 2024
No Beef For You!
The topic, particularly on red meat, has resurfaced since Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidency.
July 26, 2024
July 25, 2024
July 21, 2024
July 18, 2024
July 17, 2024
July 16, 2024
July 15, 2024
FTC Tells Franchisors - No Junk Fees
"The agency also said that franchisors can’t take action against franchisees that take complaints about the business to the government."
July 13, 2024
July 12, 2024
July 11, 2024
Anonymous McGossip on X
@McFranchisee (Twitter - formerly @MCDtruth) claims that the typical
U.S. store will receive one case of 250 Black Garlic packets. Is that worth
while of a promotion? Sounds like a half-day supply.
July 9, 2024
Barbell Strategies
During one of the previous burger wars, a QSR corporate head (I think he was from Burger King) coined the phrase "Barbell Menu." The term was used to describe pricing that brought customers into the restaurant with the hope they'd forego the discount and move up to more profitable menu items.
Today, we have a different "barbell menu" this one is more of a corporate strategy. The only "new" idea the corporate guys can come up with is discounting. But they can't admit to investors that price-off is their only idea, so they'll try to deflect attention to new product promotions. This works well because analysts and reporters are always expecting new product news. And, if there is no new product news, they'll criticize management for not having a "healthy product innovation pipeline".
If the discounting works, management will credit the new products. If sales haven't improved, they’ll blame the American consumer.
And everyone else in the system will be left asking, “How did our menu get so big and complicated?”
July 8, 2024
McDonald's NASCAR Chicago Street Race
Well, it wasn't really a "McDonald's" race, the first Chicago NASCAR race (2023) just looked that way based on photos and videos. I watched most of last year's race live and was surprised at how much visibility the McDonald's logo received. McDonald's banners covered many of the walls and barriers that made up the racecourse. These banners always seemed to be on camera. I couldn't help but wonder how much this cost.
Later, I learned the facts. Because it rained for much of the race, the TV cameras installed on high-up scaffolding or on the sides of buildings were temporarily disabled, leaving the ground-level cameras to cover the race. This meant shooting straight across the course with the racecars in the foreground and the McDonald's banners constantly in the background.
It sure looked like a race entirely sponsored by McDonald's.
July 5, 2024
July 2, 2024
July 1, 2024
.gif)
June 25, 2024
June 24, 2024
June 22, 2024
June 20, 2024
Bloomberg on McDonald's $5.00 Meal Deal
“Think about our scale,” he (Elinger) said, noting that the incremental cost of adding fries and a drink to a sandwich was minimal.
McDonald's $5.00 value meal intensifies a fast food price war
June 18, 2024
Is Anyone Watching the MCD Stock Price?
This year, the price has drifted from $300 to $250. Only two things can turn that around: * several miracles in international markets or * McDonald's Owner/Operators in the USA can discount their menus and invest in promotions until same-store sales turn around.
June 17, 2024
McDonald's Has No Artificial Intelligence
There is some humor in how reporters and analysts think about drive-thru technology. They seem to think the answer to everything in drive-thru is faster ordering. Of course, that's the only part of the operation they can see and hear. This is why McDonald's management can generate headlines about AI but can't actually make it work.
June 15, 2024
June 13, 2024
June 12, 2024
June 10, 2024
June 8, 2024
June 5, 2024
This is What Higher Royalties Buys You?
A silly headline for a silly article. This could have been avoided if the pajama boys had taken action last fall.
A McDonald’s executive confirmed this awful reality about life under Joe Biden
Another California Chain Biting the Dust
Rubio’s and In n’ Out have been two destination brands. When folks visit Southern California, they have to eat at these two chains.
But Rubio's never did real estate well. They often went with the cheapest site, so it’s no surprise they have many marginal locations.
Rubio's closes nearly 50 locations - NRN
June 1, 2024
In Case You're Missing It
The fun factor is that Disney owns the History Channel. 'Nuff said.
More on Disney later.
May 30, 2024
May 29, 2024
McDonald's Didn't Have to be the Poster Child for Inflation
Today's open letter on McDonald's pricing and the attached infographic are well done but long overdue. I was originally going to claim the $18 meal deal had been in the public eye for a few months, but then I did a search. It first showed up on social media in July of last year!
Since these myths were allowed to fester it seems every media report on inflation has mentioned prices at McDonald's. This could have been squelched with a more modest version of today's release - maybe last fall.
Remember when McDonald's Corp. had something of a "quick response" team to deal with such misreporting? If there is still such a team, they must have been off attending a ESG or DEI workshop.
Your "Royalties" at work.
Analyst: McDonald's Should Keep With the Discounting
 |
| MCD YTD 2024 - bigcharts.com |
Fast food slump could be a buying opportunity - Yahoo Financial
By "buying opportunity," the writer means, for shareholders
May 26, 2024
May 23, 2024
May 22, 2024
CosMc's and the Millennial Generation
This concept reminds me of something, oh yeah, the SPOD / Walmart platform
Customization = Slow Service = Low Volume
May 21, 2024
So This is How the Economy Works!
Jared Bernstein is President Biden's chief economic advisor. He often appears on TV in front of the White House to explain global economics.
Economics for people who don't understand economics - 3 min video
May 17, 2024
May 15, 2024
Maze on $5.00 meal
Jonathan Maze updates progress of negotiations
"McDonald’s then returned with a different proposal, one that featured incentives from Coca-Cola, the company’s beverage provider. That assuaged many operators’ concerns about profitability. The proposal also has carve-outs for higher-priced markets, enabling them to run the promotion at a higher price.
The National Owners Association, an independent group of McDonald’s operators, praised Coca-Cola for providing the financial assistance."............
"But the group also said it felt McDonald’s should step up financially, too."
May 14, 2024
May 10, 2024
Remembering the Arch Deluxe - Again
Not to beat a dead topic, but there's a lot to learn from the Arch Deluxe, both in terms of product development and marketing. Most internet videos, such as the following, are snarky and juvenile. This one is professionally produced and, if memory serves, quite accurate. And it's only six minutes long.
May 9, 2024
May 7, 2024
A History of the McFuture
In a company nearing its 70th year, there will eventually come a point where the board of directors and management have only second-hand and third-hand knowledge of the company's history. That’s where McDonald’s is today.
It’s easy to make use of icons such as animated McNuggets and Shamrock Shakes, but a new management team will ignore historical events that do not fit into their contemporary agenda.
There are major things happening today, echos from the late 1990s, that management is either ignorant of or chooses to ignore:
New store growth: We’ve discussed this many times. In the 1990s, management sought to convince investors that McDonald’s was still a growth company. New store growth was “accelerated”. Cannibalization became the word of the decade. McDonald’s Owner/Operators shared in the blame because, being starved for new stores, they eagerly opened any new location corporate came up with.
Major new sandwich introduction: Convinced that “consumer tastes have changed,” management bet the farm on the Arch Deluxe. Not only was the product uninteresting, but a complete change in McDonald’s advertising style was a flop with the American consumer.
Chairman and CEO combo: McDonald’s veterans know that some of the roughest years in McDonald’s history were when the board chair and the CEO were the same person. Denying common sense and history, it’s happening all over again.
"Overall, independent chairs are becoming more common, a trend supported by a significant number of investors over the last 10 years."
From the:
May 6, 2024
Named Executive Officers Compensation - MCD Corp
May 4, 2024
May 1, 2024
Welcome to the Fourth Branch of Government
Just when you thought the Congressional, Judicial, and Executive branches of government were enough, along comes the fourth, the Bureaucracy (or The Swamp).
The unelected bureaucracy is increasingly making rules that function as laws, and it is growing with little supervision from Congress. This rule-making is reaching a fever pitch since the bureaucrats know that a Trump administration will strip them of much of their power.
Peter Romeo covers restaurant surcharges:
McDonald's Shifts Focus to Value
“We’re in a strong position,” CEO says. “Franchisee cash flow is at the second highest levels ever.”
The fast-food giant appears to be losing the battle for customers - Maze
April 30, 2024
McDonald's Has Lost Some of its Value Edge - NRN
"Of course, these changes require alignment with the 2,000 or so franchisees in the system, but they have been generating higher cash flows and are therefore able “get more aggressive with value offerings,” Kempczinski said."
Menu Prices Raise Sales for MCD USA in Q1
Executives suggested the company will focus on value this year.
“We have a value message,” said CEO. “But we’re doing it in 50 different ways with local value. What we don’t have in the U.S. is a national value platform.”
April 29, 2024
April 28, 2024
April 26, 2024
April 25, 2024
April 24, 2024
April 23, 2024
April 22, 2024
April 20, 2024
Pres, MCD USA Sells More Shares
"The insider transaction history for McDonald's Corp shows a pattern of 26 insider sells and no insider buys over the same timeframe."
April 19, 2024
April 17, 2024
McDonald's Owner in California Says:
“We have realized that we are unable to solve our way out of this challenge just with price,” said Kerri Harper-Howie, a 21-unit McDonald’s franchisee in Los Angeles County. “We can’t do it. Our customers are price sensitive.”