The McDonald’s comeback just might be legit.
The burger chain just announced a key milestone: U.S. sales are growing for the first time since 2013.
Americans devoured McDonald’s new premium buttermilk crispy chicken deluxe sandwich and its breakfast menu, especially the revamped Egg McMuffin.
Most impressively, McDonald’s returned to domestic growth during the third quarter without any help from all-day breakfast, which didn’t launch until early October.
After years of losing customers to trendy rivals like Chipotle and Shake Shack, McDonald’s is trying to reinvent itself. In addition to all-day breakfast, McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook has sought to improve food quality with a number of changes, including promising cage-free birds within a decade.
“While still in the early stages, we believe our turnaround plan is starting to generate the change needed to reposition McDonald’s as a modern, progressive burger company,” Easterbrook said in a statement.
Wall Street is signaling a belief that these changes are actually working. Shares of McDonald’s popped 7% in premarket trading on Thursday, leaving the stock on track to open at a record high.
Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy said he was most impressed by the return to U.S. growth. It wasn’t something that he anticipated until next year.
“It suggest that the company’s key initiatives…are paying off,” Hottovy said.