{
  "id": 144183,
  "title": "McDonald’s admits that getting rid of this beloved menu offer was a ‘bad trade,’ as new $3 value menu disappoints",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/mcdonalds-admits-that-getting-rid-of-this-beloved-menu-offer-was-a",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-04T18:15:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91584968/mcdonalds-earnings-getting-rid-of-this-beloved-menu-offer-was-a-bad-trade-as-new-3-value-menu-disappoints-buy-one-get-one"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "McDonald's has admitted that the removal of a beloved menu offer was a \"bad trade,\" as their new $3 value menu has failed to meet expectations. Despite a 5% increase in global sales to $37 billion and a 0.8% rise in U.S. comparable sales, McDonald's acknowledged that the McValue menu underperformed. The chain initially rolled out the menu in April, featuring items priced at less than $3, but company leaders stated that only around 60% to 65% of their restaurants were effectively executing the pricing architecture. This decision to replace the popular \"buy one, get one for $1\" offer, introduced in 2019, proved unsuccessful, with CEO and chairman Chris Kempczinski declaring it a \"bad trade.\" The earnings results revealed that two-thirds of their miss in the quarter was due to this poor decision. Following the release, McDonald's stock rose 1.75% by midday Tuesday.",
  "summary": "A new $3 value menu didn’t deliver as much as hoped for—but McDonald’s still posted a profitable quarter. The fast-food giant reported its latest earnings on Tuesday morning, which showed that global sales increased 5% to $37 billion, and comparable sales in the United States were up 0.8%. That’s notable, considering that restaurants have been taking it on the chin as diners contend with high…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Business Insider",
        "title": "McDonald's is rethinking its value menu. We want your take.",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/mcdonalds-is-rethinking-its-value-menu-we-want-your-take",
        "published": "2026-08-05T16:38:50.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}