McDonald’s Plans $8.5 Billion Franchisee Support Through 2036

McDonald's announced at its September 23, 2026 investor day in Chicago about $8.5 billion in franchisee support through 2036 under its NEXT strategy, including roughly $5 billion by 2030 in rent relief and capital contributions. The company projects 250 basis points of gross efficiency improvement, about $100,000 in added annual cash flow for the average U.S. restaurant, and a roughly four-year franchisee payback. It targets operating margins in the low-to-mid 50% range by 2030, G&A costs of about 1.9% of system-wide sales by 2030, and new openings contributing about 2.5% to system-wide sales growth in 2027 and about 2% by 2030. Baseline capital spending is about $3 billion a year from 2027 to 2030, plus $1.5-2 billion cumulative more. CEO Chris Kempczinski said, "McDonald's has the unmatched scale, customer insights, brand loyalty, and operational capabilities to not only adapt to the next wave of change in our industry, but to turn it into an advantage." Make It Golden begins October 5, tied to Ray Kroc's 124th birthday. Yahoo Finance Video hosts discussed the announcement. CONTESTED: 2025 operating margin is reported as 46.1% (Yahoo/Quartz) or 46.9% adjusted (Tradingpedia). The 2030 chicken and beverages market-share target is cited as 1.5 percentage points (Yahoo/Quartz) or 0.5 (Yahoo Finance Video transcript).