Kempczinski's McDonald's Slumps as Same-Restaurant Sales Stagnate

Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald's, is facing increasing criticism for his tenure, which has seen the company underperform in recent years. Despite taking over in late 2019, Kempczinski's leadership has failed to drive significant growth, with same-restaurant sales in the US rising just 0.2% in 2022 and stagnating last year.

Under his guidance, McDonald's stock has returned 64%, but this is largely due to a surge in the weeks leading up to Thompson's retirement in 2015. Over nearly seven years, Kempczinski's annualized gains of 7.5% are actually worse than those under Thompson, who was ousted after just three years.

Kempczinski has admitted that the company took too much pricing when inflation arrived in 2022, and the same-restaurant sales growth has been disappointing, especially compared to competitors like Burger King and Taco Bell.

As Kempczinski himself acknowledged on a conference call with analysts, McDonald's didn't execute well enough around value in the quarter. The company's campaign tied to the World Cup also disappointed, leading to overworked managers, poorly executed promotions, and confused customers.