McDonald's Aims to Cash In on Ad Revenue with Drive-Thru Boards

McDonald's has been struggling to grow its business this year, with a light growth rate and a stock that's been in a tailspin. However, the company has recently announced a move that could provide a big boost to its financials: it's getting into the ad business by showing ads on its drive-thru order boards.

Hundreds of McDonald's locations have begun testing out these ads, which are sold to third parties as a way to generate more revenue for the company. The company estimates that if it goes through with this plan, it could generate $1 billion in revenue. This would be on top of its existing sales of $27.7 billion over the past four quarters.

The ad business would help diversify McDonald's operations and give it a new growth opportunity to pursue without much additional cost. It would also make it easier for the company to grow both its top and bottom lines. In addition, McDonald's recently announced plans to invest $8.5 billion over the next decade as it remodels restaurants, updates its menus, and retrains employees to improve the customer experience.