McDonald's Discounted for Two Years. Its U.S. Traffic Still Fell.

McDonald's just handed solar and RV sellers a lesson worth stealing. Traffic to its U.S. restaurants fell last quarter, and same-store sales there slipped 0.2%. The chain has spent two years leaning on discounts. It still lost ground — and what it's trying next is the part you should steal.

What McDonald's just put on the table

McDonald's posted mixed results for the quarter on Wednesday, and the U.S. number is the one that should stop you. Traffic to its U.S. restaurants fell, and sales at U.S. stores open at least 13 months dropped 0.2%.

That was better than the 0.5% decline Wall Street expected, per StreetAccount's analyst survey. But better than expected is not growth. It's a smaller loss.

The rest of the world carried the quarter. Companywide same-store sales rose 1.5%, ahead of the 1.3% analysts expected. International developmental licensed markets — Japan and China sit inside that group — grew 4.2%, double the forecast. The international operated division, which includes Australia and Germany, grew 1.4% and came in under the 2.1% forecast.

Net income came in at $2.49 billion, or $3.51 a share. A year earlier it was $2.28 billion, or $3.18 a share. Take out restructuring charges and other items, and profit was $3.57 a share.

Now the detail that matters if you sell big-ticket items. U.S. same-store sales turned positive in September, CFO Ian Borden told analysts, after two down months in July and August. He also made clear he had not said U.S. same-store sales would do better in the fourth quarter.

One good month, inside a soft quarter, with no promise about the next one. If you've ever had a monster September after a rough summer, you know that feeling.

The two-year discount that didn't fix it

Here's the backstory, and it's the reason I'm writing this at all.

Like a lot of restaurants, McDonald's has spent two years using discounts to draw in diners who watch their budgets. Two years of value pricing. And U.S. traffic still fell.

In August, CEO Chris Kempczinski said the U.S. business was missing on execution, especially in how it rolled out its value offerings.

My read: the discount wasn't the problem. The execution was.

So what did the company do to reverse the declines? It put its marketing behind Extra Value Meals and brought back regional and national app promotions — which the article says are important to its most frequent diners.

Notice what that is. My read: the fix wasn't a deeper price cut — it was a push aimed at the people who already come back, delivered where those people already are.

And it's still testing. McDonald's is trying out two new value menus: one lets people mix and match bundles, the other pairs set items together. Whichever one lands best with diners and franchisees gets a nationwide launch in early 2027.

Borden's take on the global picture, from the company's earnings call: "In the majority of our large international markets, we're holding or gaining share." On the consumer, he said: "It's a soft consumer environment, but we're doing well."

France was a weak spot, the company said. Kempczinski said franchisees there recently voted on a turnaround plan, on top of a weaker economy there and some short-term disruption tied to student protests.

My read: a soft consumer is not an excuse. It's the weather you sell in. The companies that win in it stop cutting price and start aiming better.

What this means if you sell solar or RVs

This is opinion, so take it as that. But here's how I'd read the McDonald's quarter against your business.

Picture a solar installer who has been running the same discount for two quarters. Quote volume is fine. Close rate isn't. The homeowner has three quotes within a few thousand dollars of each other, and they don't pick the cheapest one. They pick the company that showed up twice, answered the question about the utility bill, and followed up when the decision slipped a week. McDonald's spent two years on price and lost traffic. Your version of that is a discount nobody ever hears about because nobody got back to the customer.

Picture an RV dealer with a clearance banner that's been up since spring. Lot traffic is soft, and every salesperson is allowed to see what they can do on the number. Meanwhile the service drive is full of people who bought there three years ago and haven't heard a word since. McDonald's answer was the app — the place its regulars already are. Yours is your service list, your text list, your past buyers.

And picture the dealer whose September was great. That's the trap. McDonald's had September too, inside a quarter that still went backward. One good month tells you something worked. It doesn't tell you the problem is gone.

How to use this in your business this week

Here's what I would actually do, in order. None of this takes a budget.

1. Open your CRM and sort last quarter's leads by where they came from. Mark the ones from past customers, referrals and service visits. You're measuring the size of the group you already own. Give it 20 minutes.

1. Count how many of your quotes got a second real touch within 48 hours. Not a check-in email — a second contact with a reason. If that number is low, that's your July and August.

1. Write your current offer in one sentence on a piece of paper. If the sentence is that you are cheaper, you're standing where the burger chain was two years ago.

1. Build one offer aimed only at past customers. Not the whole market — the people who already paid you. Here's a script a solar installer could send today:

Hi [name] — it's [you] from [company]. We installed your system back in [year]. We're doing performance checks for past customers this month, and I can get you on the schedule Thursday or Saturday. Want me to hold a spot?

1. And here's one an RV dealer could send:

Hi [name] — [you] from [dealership]. You bought your [model] with us in [year]. We're running a past-customer service special this month, and I can get your rig in and out the same day. Want the two open slots?

1. Put that offer where your regulars already are — your text list, your email list, your service reminders. That's the app move. Don't bury it on a page nobody visits.

1. Test two versions, the way McDonald's is testing two menus. Same offer, two different messages or two different audiences. Run both for two weeks, then keep the one that produced appointments. Put the review date on your calendar right now.

One honest note: the sources don't say how McDonald's built or ran its app promotions, so I'm not going to pretend to know. The steps above are mine.

Mistakes to avoid

• Cutting price before you fix follow-up. A bigger discount on a lead nobody called back is just a smaller check.
• Aiming at strangers when your past customers are the cheapest sale you have.
• Judging a promotion on one good month. McDonald's had September. The quarter still went backward.
• Rolling out everywhere on a hunch. McDonald's is testing two menus and launching the winner in early 2027. You can test in two weeks.