McDonald’s Shares Hit 52-Week Low on Heavy Selling

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD), the fast-food chain, fell sharply in trading today, pushing its share price below the low it had held for the past year. The stock was changing hands at $237.36 by 8.30pm in London, having traded as low as $234.03 during the session.

The shares were down 5.19% on the day, their largest daily fall in roughly six months. The move took the stock below its previous 52-week low of $246.52. The session’s high was $250.32. Turnover was heavy: more than 13.8 million shares changed hands, close to three times the stock’s 20-day average volume.

McDonald’s today outlined about $8.5 billion in franchisee support as part of an expanded growth plan, setting new margin and market-share targets under its “NEXT” strategy launched in June.

The company missed estimates for second-quarter US sales growth last month and has named Skye Anderson as president of its US business, as it looks to revive momentum after inflation and value-driven competition weighed on sales.

The support runs through 2036, with roughly $5 billion committed by 2030, aimed at lifting operating margins to the low-to-mid 50% range by 2030, from a 46.9% adjusted operating margin in fiscal 2025.

How unusual this is

Today’s decline is the largest single-session fall McDonald’s shares have posted in roughly six months, and the break below the 52-week low is the first time the stock has traded at a new low since the 11th of October 2022. The volume behind the move, at close to three times the stock’s recent average, points to a broad shift in positioning rather than a thin, low-volume drift lower.

McDonald’s had held its 52-week low of $246.52 for almost four years without breaking it before today. The company’s next scheduled results are due on the 4th of November.