McDonald's Ramps Up Value Push: Can EVMs Rebuild Traffic Momentum?

McDonald's Corporation MCD is sharpening its value positioning in the United States as the company navigates a highly bifurcated consumer backdrop. Management emphasized that lower-income QSR traffic continues to decline by nearly double digits, reinforcing value perception as the most important driver of customer choice. Against this pressure, McDonald’s relaunched its Extra Value Meals (EVMs) nationally in September as a structural reset designed to restore consistency and predictability across the core menu.

The updated EVM lineup features clear price anchors — including a $5 Sausage McMuffin with Egg meal and an $8 Big Mac meal — on items that represent roughly 30% of U.S. transactions. Early results are performing in line with expectations, supported by rising consumer awareness and improving value-experience scores. Management stressed that the EVM redesign is not a temporary promotion but a foundational element in rebuilding everyday affordability on the menu board.

To support operators through this transition, McDonald’s provided $15 million of corporate co-investment in September and expects to contribute approximately $75 million in the fourth quarter, followed by a smaller support package in early 2026 before fully phasing out funding. Franchisee alignment remains exceptionally strong, with 98-99% backing the initiative.

This value reset comes as lower-income consumers face persistent pressures — including elevated rent, food-at-home inflation, childcare costs and reduced SNAP benefits — dynamics McDonald’s expects to extend into 2026. Within this environment, the company aims to strengthen predictable value as a central lever to stabilize guest counts. With the EVM architecture recalibrated and system alignment in place, McDonald’s is positioning its value platform to better match evolving affordability expectations across the QSR landscape.

MCD’s Stock Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of McDonald's have gained 4.9% so far this year against the industry’s fall of 11.2%. In the same time frame, other industry players like Starbucks Corporation SBUX, Sweetgreen, Inc. SG and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG have declined 9.5%, 81.1% and 49.7%, respectively.

MCD YTD Price Performance

From a valuation standpoint, MCD trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 7.72, above the industry’s average of 3.34. Conversely, industry players, such as Starbucks, Sweetgreen and Chipotle, have P/S multiples of 2.41, 0.94 and 3.09, respectively.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MCD’s 2026 earnings per share has declined 0.8% in the past 60 days to $13.28.

The company is likely to report strong earnings, with projections indicating a 9.5% rise in 2026. Conversely, industry players like Sweetgreen and Chipotle are likely to witness an increase of 15.9% and 5.4%, respectively, year over year, in 2025 earnings. Meanwhile, Starbucks' 2026 earnings are likely to witness a rise of 15%, year over year.

MCD stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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