McDonald's > NEXT Investor Day: margin target low-to-mid 50% by 2030, $8.5B franchisee support

At its September 23, 2026 Investor Day, McDonald's unveiled the NEXT plan, which targets operating margin in the low-to-mid 50% range by 2030, about 250 basis points of restaurant-level efficiency gains, and about $8.5 billion of franchisee partnering support through 2036. Management also set share-gain goals of 1.5 percentage points each in chicken and beverages by 2030. The plan front-loads cash for franchisees, with payback expected in about four years, which is why traders focused on near-term cost.

• Operating margin target: low-to-mid 50% range by 2030 (46.9% in fiscal 2025)
• About 250 bps of gross restaurant-level efficiency gains, tied to full NEXT deployment in the U.S. and International Operated Markets
• About $8.5 billion of NEXT partnering support through 2036, including about $5 billion through 2030
• Capital partnering of $1.5 billion to $2 billion from 2027 through 2030, on top of about $3 billion of annual baseline capex
• Unit expansion to add nearly 2.5% to systemwide sales growth in 2027, moderating to about 2% by 2030; franchisee payback about four years