McDonald's Bounces Back From A Bad Year

A world where your favorite food joint suddenly becomes a bit sketchier. That was the case for McDonald's in 2024. It all started with an E. coli outbreak. This outbreak caused a big drop in customers and a drop in profits. This was a rougher year for McDonald's. This was not the only problem. The cost of their menu items has soared. More than 100 people across a dozen states got sick from E. coli, traced back to fresh slivered onions on Quarter Pounders. McDonald's tried to help stop the bad publicity with a plan. They spent a whopping $100 million on marketing and launched a new, cheaper menu. The new "McValue" menu was their way of reigniting interest from all customers. It especially helped with those who thought McDonald's was becoming too pricey. In the latest quarter, sales dropped by 1. 4% in the U. S. This was a big change from the year before when sales went up by 4. 3%. This was not great. Not every part of the world was against them. Sales actually went up 4. 1% in other parts of the world. This was especially true in the Middle East, where McDonald's had faced a lot of boycotts. McDonald's is still struggling in the U. S. but they are trying to get back on their feet. The stock is up nearly 2% from a year ago. They are trying to get back to normal and are trying to win back their customers.