McDonald’s posts biggest US sales drop since Covid-19 pandemic

McDonald’s has suffered its biggest drop in US sales since the height of Covid, a fall that it said was driven by wider concerns about the US economy.

The world’s largest burger chain’s revenue at US stores open at least a year sank 3.6% in the first three months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, as customers reduced their visits.

It marked the steepest decline in like-for-like sales in the US since the three months to the end of June 2020 when many pandemic restrictions were still in place.

Chief executive Chris Kempczinski said customers were “grappling with uncertainty” but assured investors that the firm could “navigate even the toughest of market conditions”.

McDonald’s has been working for months to try to re-ignite its business, after facing backlash from customers, especially lower income households, over rising prices.

The firm’s latest drop in sales coincided with a contraction in the US economy, which shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first three months of 2025.

It marked the first quarterly decline since 2022.

The figures reflected just over two months of Donald Trump’s presidency – as many firms and consumers reacted with confusion to his barrage of tariff announcements – but not his “Liberation Day” tariff plans on 2 April

Over the same three-month period, the slump in McDonald’s US sales dragged its overall like-for-like revenue down 1% even as sales in Japan, Australia, and the Middle East grew.

Mr Kempczinski said: “Consumers today are grappling with uncertainty, but they can always count on McDonald’s […] for exceptional value”.

“McDonald’s has a 70-year legacy of innovation, leadership, and proven agility, all of which give us confidence in our ability to navigate even the toughest of market conditions and gain market share,” he added.

Businesses have had a mix of reactions since Trump began revealing and enforcing his plans for tariffs, which are a tax payable by a person or firm buying a good from overseas.

This week, technology giant Intel said costs would rise and a recession was more likely because of Trump’s tariffs.

Sportswear brand Adidas said they would lead to higher prices in the US for popular trainers including the Gazelle and Samba.

Meanwhile, delivery giant DHL paused deliveries worth more than $800 (£603) due to US trade policy before lifting them after negotiating “adjustments” to customs rues.

Trump and his allies have said the policies will help to bring more jobs to the US as firms base factories and operations the country to avoid the new taxes.

However, many companies and economists have said this will be difficult to achieve and will likely mean job losses and economic pain at least in the short term.

Reacting to yesterday’s economic figures, Trump said he needed “a little bit of time” – calling the numbers a reflection of the “Biden economy”, a reference to the former president.