McDonald's "Sales Momentum and Valuation to Improve" (Buy) Geiger

Research evidence excerpt

McDonald's "Sales Momentum and Valuation to Improve" (Buy) Geiger

Marketing to continue to support brand relevance and sales growth

Beyond menu innovation, MCD's marketing efforts have been a strength in recent years,

and we anticipate effective campaigns, collaborations and other merchandising (ie

Collector's Cups) will continue to resonate with consumers, driving brand relevance and

sales. We anticipate MCD will lean into culturally relevant events, including the world

cup. Ongoing tech enhancements are likely to be an additional competitive advantage

and sales driver going forward, as MCD continues to utilize scale and investments to

support sales and profitability via technology. Overall, we expect underlying US sss will

likely remain solid, driven by innovation, increasingly compelling value, and marketing

platforms. While our latest franchisee checks suggest recently softer trends likely given

higher gas prices, discussions also indicate optimism that 2H trends will improve, w/

confidence in the marketing calendar over the balance of '26 (UBSe 2.0% '26 US sss).

QSR survey highlights still strong US value perceptions and solid visit intent

UBS Evidence Lab's QSR survey results indicate leading net visit intent for MCD, with a

net +18% of respondents suggesting they will visit more (29% said more, 11% less),

compared to the peer avg of 7%. Survey results suggest MCD's key sales initiatives

should support traffic & sales growth, including: value initiatives (ie Extra Value Meals

& McValue Platform), marketing / promotions, menu innovation, and digital / loyalty

platforms. These strategic priorities align w/ top factors which consumer respondents

indicated are driving increased visits, including: good value (39% of respondents),