McDonald’s wants to open more than 8,800 locations and add 100 million members to its loyalty program by 2027. The targets are part of the fast-food giant’s long-term plans to grow sales across its already sprawling restaurant footprint, CNBC reports.
For 2024, McDonald’s is projecting net new restaurant growth of 4%. Nearly 2% of next year’s systemwide sales growth in constant currency will come from adding to its footprint.
After 2024, the company plans to grow its restaurant count by 4% to 5% annually. Those new locations will contribute about 2.5% of systemwide sales growth in constant currency.
Therefore, McDonald’s big development plans will mean higher capital spending. For 2024, the company anticipates $2.5 billion in capital expenditures, up from its expectation of $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion in 2023. And for every year from 2025 through 2027, McDonald’s expects to increase its capital expenditures by $300 million to $500 million sequentially.
By 2027, McDonald’s wants a global footprint of 50,000 locations. The chain had 41,198 restaurants worldwide as of Sept. 30.
To reach its development target, McDonald’s plans to open 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.
The company’s IOM business includes markets like France, Canada and Australia, and accounts for nearly 50% of the company’s revenue.
McDonald’s IDL segment includes China, which will account for more than half of the division’s new locations. In late November, McDonald’s announced it had bought back a minority stake in its China business, which currently has a footprint of more than 5,500 restaurants.
“There’s no reason why China can’t be [20,000] to 25,000 stores or restaurants — it could be the largest market for us around the world,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said.
