McDonald’s may still be one of the most recognizable restaurant brands in the world, but financial and housing analyst Michael Bordenaro says its latest numbers point to a deeper problem: fewer customers are showing up, many of those who do are spending more carefully, and the chain may be struggling to win back people who no longer see fast food as a bargain.
In a recent video examining McDonald’s second-quarter 2026 performance, Bordenaro argued that the company is useful as a kind of economic indicator because it traditionally served a broad customer base and was widely viewed as an affordable option. If even McDonald’s is having trouble getting people through the door, he said, that may reveal more about household finances than some of the usual headline economic statistics.
Revenue Rose, But U.S. Sales Barely Moved
Bordenaro noted that McDonald’s revenue increased 4% to about $7.1 billion, which was above Wall Street expectations and might look positive at first glance.
But he said the more important number was U.S. comparable sales, which rose only 0.8% and were down 2.5% from the same quarter a year earlier.
To him, that suggested the company was not experiencing the kind of durable recovery it has been trying to build.
Bordenaro said McDonald’s has rolled out a steady stream of promotions, value meals, app discounts and loyalty offers in recent years, and while some of those efforts may create temporary boosts, he does not believe they have fixed the underlying problem.
He also pointed to the company’s stock performance, saying shares were down about 10% from a year earlier and roughly flat compared with two years ago.
His broader point was that revenue growth alone does not tell the whole story if fewer people are visiting restaurants and customers are becoming more selective about what they buy.
Bordenaro Says The Experience Has Gotten Worse
Bordenaro argued that the problem is not only price.
He criticized McDonald’s for reducing front-counter staffing, relying more heavily on self-service kiosks and making changes that, in his view, have made the customer experience feel less personal and less convenient.
He also pointed to stores that have removed self-service drink stations or changed refill policies, saying these smaller changes can add to the feeling that customers are paying more while receiving less.
That matters because fast food has always been built on a simple promise: convenience, predictability and relatively low prices.
If those advantages start disappearing at the same time, customers have more reason to compare McDonald’s directly with sit-down restaurants, fast-casual chains or other burger competitors.
Bordenaro said that is exactly what seems to be happening.
Value Meals Have Not Been Enough
For the past year, McDonald’s has pushed value-focused promotions in an effort to bring price-sensitive customers back.
Bordenaro said company executives have acknowledged that some of those promotions did not perform as strongly as expected.
He took that as a sign that consumers may be more cautious than the company anticipated.
If a lower-priced menu still does not bring people back in large numbers, he argued, then the issue may be bigger than any one promotion.
Bordenaro said many customers who do return are using coupons, choosing cheaper menu items or relying on app deals rather than spending freely.
That behavior makes sense if household budgets are tighter, especially because fast food is often the first place people go when they want something inexpensive without cooking.
If even those customers are pulling back, Bordenaro believes that says something meaningful about the wider economy.
The Bigger Problem May Be Lost Trust
Bordenaro repeatedly returned to what he called a loss of trust between customers and major restaurant chains.
He argued that many companies raised prices aggressively over the past several years while also reducing quality, portion size or service, then effectively told consumers to accept the new reality.
Some customers did not.
And once they stopped going, Bordenaro said, many discovered other places that offered better food or more value for roughly the same amount of money.
He quoted one former McDonald’s customer who said a meal that once cost around $6 now felt more like a $12 to $15 purchase, while the restaurant experience and food quality had gotten worse.
Another person said prices had climbed while portions became smaller, making sit-down restaurants more competitive.
Bordenaro agreed with those complaints and said he had noticed the same trend across much of the restaurant industry.
This is probably the most important part of his argument, because price increases can be temporary in a customer’s mind, but a sense of being taken for granted can last much longer.
Other Restaurants Are Competing On Value
Bordenaro said McDonald’s also faces a tougher comparison problem than it once did.
He recalled visiting a McDonald’s in California and being surprised that a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese and fries cost more than a meal from In-N-Out Burger, which he personally viewed as higher quality.
He made a similar comparison with Chipotle, saying that if he is already spending around $15, he would rather buy a larger and more nutritious meal somewhere else.
One customer he quoted made the same basic point about Korean fried chicken, saying a McDonald’s 20-piece nugget meal cost about the same as a higher-quality meal from a local restaurant.
That is a difficult position for McDonald’s because its historical advantage was not necessarily being the best food, but being cheap, fast and familiar.
If the price difference narrows too much, consumers start asking why they should not simply spend the same amount elsewhere.
McDonald’s Is Trying To Reset Its U.S. Business
Bordenaro said McDonald’s has a new president for its U.S. business and plans to improve execution, strengthen marketing and focus more heavily on proven value offers in the coming quarters.
He was skeptical that those moves would be enough.
In his view, the company has already spent years experimenting with discounts and promotions, yet customer traffic remains weak.
He also noted that the slowdown is not limited to the United States.
According to the figures he cited, global comparable sales rose only 1.3%, down from 3.8% growth in the previous quarter.
Bordenaro interpreted that as evidence that slower consumer spending may be affecting McDonald’s across multiple markets rather than in one country alone.
Winning Customers Back Could Be The Hard Part
The question Bordenaro kept returning to was what McDonald’s could realistically do to convince former customers to return.
He said many people probably want prices closer to pre-pandemic levels while also expecting better food quality and service.
The problem, he argued, is that offering all three at once would be expensive for the company and could put pressure on profit margins and the stock price.
That tension is familiar across corporate America: companies want to protect shareholder value, but pushing prices and cost-cutting too far can weaken the customer relationship that supports the business in the first place.
Bordenaro said McDonald’s may be approaching that point, where short-term efforts to preserve margins have made the brand less attractive to people who once viewed it as an easy, affordable choice.
His conclusion was not that McDonald’s is disappearing, but that the company no longer has the same automatic place in consumers’ budgets.
For a chain built on being the default cheap meal for millions of people, that change may be more important than any one quarter of sales.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
