---
title: "McDonald’s Franchisees Face Challenges as Sales Decline Amid Expansion"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/1320200d-ae39-4a4b-b4d2-0a22458c2dae
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/mcdonalds-franchisees-feel-the-pressure-as-sales-decline-and-expansion-continues-2728574
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit"]
published: 2025-02-13T21:16:53.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T01:01:50.206Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/10768041a19e6995c50ef1f4a41e07d5533.jpg
---

# McDonald’s Franchisees Face Challenges as Sales Decline Amid Expansion

**TL;DR:** McDonald's franchisees face challenges due to declining sales, attributed to reduced customer spending and an E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounders. The company plans to open 2,200 new locations globally in 2025, despite existing franchisees' financial pressure.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2025-02-13. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/mcdonalds-franchisees-feel-the-pressure-as-sales-decline-and-expansion-continues-2728574).*

## Story

1851 Franchise recently reported that McDonald’s was navigating a difficult economic climate by leveraging value-driven promotions and operational adjustments to counteract declining sales. New data reveals that U.S. same-store sales fell 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking the company’s first domestic sales decline in nearly four years. The downturn is largely attributed to reduced customer spending per visit and the lingering impact of an E. coli outbreak linked to slivered onions on Quarter Pounders, which resulted in one fatality and significant financial losses for franchisees.

The National Owners Association, an independent group representing McDonald’s franchisees, estimates that operators collectively lost more than $200 million due to the E. coli outbreak. In response, McDonald’s has committed $100 million to U.

S. operations, aiming to provide relief to franchisees and fund efforts to rebuild consumer confidence. Despite this investment, many franchisees remain under financial pressure.

While McDonald’s has doubled down on affordability through a $5 meal deal and other value-based promotions, some franchisees express concerns about eroding margins and whether these initiatives will be sufficient to reverse sales declines.

Despite these challenges, McDonald’s remains committed to expansion, with plans to open 2,200 new locations globally in 2025, including 600 in the U.S. While this signals confidence in the brand’s future, it also creates new challenges for existing franchisees who must balance increased competition, rising operational costs, and evolving consumer expectations. As McDonald’s pushes forward, its ability to support franchisees in navigating these headwinds will be critical to the brand’s long-term stability.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- McDonald's (company)
- United States (location)
- expansion plans (topic)
- sales decline (topic)
- franchisee challenges (topic)
- e coli outbreak (topic)
- value promotions (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/mcdonalds-franchisees-feel-the-pressure-as-sales-decline-and-expansion-continues-2728574). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/1320200d-ae39-4a4b-b4d2-0a22458c2dae).