McDonald's unveils NEXT strategy to boost growth and productivity

McDonald’s has put a new operating order in place for the whole system, and it reaches straight into the daily rhythm of crews, shift leaders and franchisees. In a June 1 message, Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski introduced McDonald’s > NEXT as the company’s strategy for its next era of growth and productivity, with the goal of bringing in more customers more often while improving unit economics.

For restaurant workers, the message is not just about branding. McDonald’s said the customer journey is becoming more automated, which means fewer chances for guests to interact with crew and a higher premium on hospitality when those moments do happen. The company also said competitors are upgrading menus and specialist chains are redefining taste and quality in chicken, beef and beverages, while inflation has made value a constant pressure point. McDonald’s said its value perceptions have rebounded in most markets, but that it still has to earn and re-earn every visit.

Kempczinski framed NEXT as the “what,” with each market writing its own “how” based on local customers and crew. That division matters inside a franchise system where corporate can set the target, but restaurants still have to make the labor math work at store level. The practical read is that managers will be asked to standardize more tightly around speed, service and consistency, while franchisees will be pressed to protect sales and margins in a business that is being pushed to work harder at the unit level.

The new strategy also builds on McDonald’s earlier growth targets. In December 2023, the company said it aimed to reach 50,000 restaurants worldwide by the end of 2027, grow loyalty from 150 million to 250 million 90-day active users by 2027 and connect thousands of restaurants to Google Cloud starting in 2024. In its 2026 proxy statement, McDonald’s said it remained on track toward those goals.

That push comes after another round of restructuring inside the company. McDonald’s said it created a Global Restaurant Experience function in 2025 to move faster and streamline work in peak periods, bringing together operations, supply chain, franchising, development, restaurant design, delivery and Speedee Labs. In the first quarter of 2026, McDonald’s reported global comparable sales growth of 3.8 percent, global Systemwide sales growth of 11 percent to more than $34 billion and $47 million in pre-tax restructuring charges tied to Accelerating the Organization.

McDonald’s also marked its 70th anniversary in 2025, a milestone that underscores how much the business has shifted from Ray Kroc’s first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, to a system serving about 70 million customers a day in more than 100 countries. NEXT suggests the company is now trying to turn that scale into tighter control over how restaurants run, how labor is organized and how much work gets standardized across the system.