McDonald's Targets 98% Franchise Mix, Higher Margins Through 2030

McDonald's has outlined new long-term growth and profitability targets at its 2026 Investor Day, acknowledging gaps in restaurant execution. The company aims to raise its global franchise mix from approximately 95% to about 98% by the end of 2028.

The key pillars of McDonald's growth strategy are outlined under the NEXT umbrella, which focuses on improving taste, quality, and innovation (Menu > NEXT), personalization, and visit frequency (Consumer > NEXT), simpler operations, restaurant modernization, and GenAI-enabled ArchIQ (Restaurant > NEXT), and hospitality and consistency (People > NEXT).

McDonald's expects Restaurant NEXT to add approximately $100,000 in annual gross cash flow through a 250-basis-point efficiency gain. The company plans $8.5 billion of NEXT partnering through 2036, including approximately $5 billion by the end of 2030.