McDonald’s journey to 50,000 restaurants will take a bit longer
McDonald's adjusts trajectory to reach 50,000 global restaurants by 2028 amid economic challenges.
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McDonald's is pushing to achieve 50,000 restaurants globally by 2028, having completed over 45,000 locations as of 2025. Despite ambitious expansion efforts, economic factors have caused the chain to revise its growth timeline. The company has added nearly 1,700 restaurants annually, significantly higher than its previous averages.
Why It Matters
This revision in growth plans may compress available territories for franchisees, potentially affecting future openings and market positioning in the QSR landscape.
McDonald's, the global fast-food leader, is extending its ambitious plan to reach 50,000 locations worldwide from 2027 to 2028. As of the end of 2025, the company boasted over 45,000 restaurants globally, including 13,706 in the U.S. This new timeline indicates a commitment to expanding by more than 5,000 units over the next two years, although this pace has been impacted by economic challenges.
In a statement, CFO Ian Borden remarked, "Due to current pressured consumer environment, coupled with the cumulative inflationary impact on development costs, we now expect to reach 50,000 restaurants globally in 2028." Over the last three years, McDonald's has added an average of nearly 1,700 new restaurants annually, a significant increase from the average of 538 openings per year over the prior 15 years. In 2025 alone, the company opened the most locations in 25 years, with 149 new restaurants added domestically.
Despite this growth, McDonald's still operates fewer restaurants than it did in past years, having approximately 650 less than its peak in 2014, when it had 14,350 locations in the U.S. This shift in domestic store strategy is noteworthy, as the chain had closed a net of 19 locations a year on average over the previous 15 years prior to the recent expansion.
CEO Chris Kempczinski expressed confidence in their strategy, stating, “We’re well on our way to 50,000 restaurants, thanks to the most aggressive expansion of new restaurants in our history, all while keeping our existing restaurant estate among the industry’s most modernized.” The growth trajectory signifies not only McDonald’s commitment to expansion but also suggests that the company is identifying opportunities domestically for further development.
The overall economic climate, however, remains a critical factor affecting their growth pace, especially noted during the company's poor performance in the second quarter. Moving forward, the key will be monitoring how McDonald's navigates these challenges as they seek to maintain their expansion momentum into 2028.
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