McDonald’s is banking on burgers and fries to tell a bigger story about the American economy. Chief executive Chris Kempczinski is slimming down the cost of the fast-food giant’s value meals as he grapples with what he calls a “two-tier economy”—a widening divide between consumers who are still spending freely and those who are pulling back.
For years, dating back to the 2022 inflation wave, McDonald’s and its fast-food rivals have contended with shopper frustration over rising menu prices, with combo meals increasingly breaking into double digits. Customers at the higher end of the income spectrum continue to order premium products and use delivery apps at healthy rates. Lower-income diners, however, are cutting back, Kempczinski argued in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, treating fast food less as a daily convenience and more as an occasional splurge. He told the anchors that McDonald’s has been on a “value journey” over the past year or so.
