There might be a new king of fast food.
Burger King’s US sales are soaring as customers embrace its revamped Whopper – while long-reigning McDonald’s suffers flailing growth in its largest market.
In the most recent quarter, Burger King’s US same-store sales jumped 8.5%, owner Restaurant Brands International – which also owns Tim Horton and Popeyes – said Thursday.
McDonald’s, meanwhile, saw US same-store sales growth of just 0.8%, which executives called disappointing. The company on Tuesday announced it has hired a new president for its US division in an attempt to drive sales.
The fast-food giants’ rivalry has been heating up this year amid a battle between their biggest burgers, after they both unveiled their own version of calorie-bomb patties on the same day in February.
Burger King updated its iconic Whopper with a “premium” bun, “better-tasting mayo” and a box container instead of a paper wrapper while McDonald’s brought the Big Arch Burger to the US. It features two quarter-pound beef patties and three slices of melted cheese.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski was ruthlessly mocked online for a video touting the burger, in which he took a weirdly timid bite.
On Thursday, RBI said Burger King’s turnaround effort — which included the updated Whopper, restaurant renovations and a new marketing campaign — helped draw in customers.
“Burger King’s performance is a great example of what’s possible when you invest in the fundamentals and execute well – an approach we’re applying across all of our brands,” Restaurant Brands CEO Josh Kobza said in a statement.
RBI said Burger King’s “standout performance” extended overseas, as its international restaurants enjoyed same-store sales growth of 5.4% in the last quarter.
Michael Gunther, SVP of research and market intelligence at Consumer Intelligence, said Burger King’s outperformance was broad – with accelerating growth in traffic, average check size and market share gains across all age and income groups.
“These trends are notable amid a challenging environment for restaurants as consumers – especially lower-income diners that make up an outsized share of Burger King’s base – face macroeconomic pressures and cost-of-living concerns,” Gunther said in a note Thursday.
Executives said there is more room for improvement at Burger King, since not all of its US restaurants have been remodeled yet – and RBI’s other brands struggled in the same period.
McDonald’s on Tuesday reported mixed quarterly results, including adjusting earnings per share of $3.38 that beat expectations but revenue of $7.10 billion that missed estimates of $7.13 billion.
“We don’t have a strategy problem,” Kempczinski said during the company’s earnings call. “We simply didn’t execute at the level we needed to in the second quarter.”
Skye Anderson, a 26-year McDonald’s veteran, will be taking over the role of president of the chain’s US business – succeeding Joe Erlinger, who held the position for over six years.
While average check size rose at McDonald’s US joints, traffic fell, the company said.
Executives blamed that poor performance on a disjointed rollout of its value offerings, including an “under $3 menu” that aimed to win over inflation-battered customers.
McDonald’s US restaurants are mostly run by franchisees, who are allowed to set their own prices – meaning only about 60% to 65% of the company’s system has adopted the special discount menu, according to Kempczinski.
After facing fervent backlash over rising prices at the drive-thru, McDonald’s also tried to launch too many value offerings at once, which ultimately slowed down restaurant operations – adding to wait times and resulting in frustrated customers, the company said.
“While our playbook is working around the world, we see an opportunity to raise the bar in the US and accelerate performance in our largest market,” Kempczinski said.
McDonald’s said it expects its US same-store sales to return to strong growth by 2027 if it revamps its operations and marketing.
The company saw much stronger results outside of the US, with same-store sales growth of 1.5% in international operated markets and 1.9% in international developmental licensed markets.
