McDonald's is setting its sights on higher operating margins, rolling out a fresh multi-year employee training initiative, and committing billions of dollars to help franchisees fund equipment and technology upgrades. These moves form part of the fast-food giant’s new growth strategy, dubbed "McDonald’s NEXT," which will be detailed further at an investor presentation scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

The company announced its latest financial targets on Wednesday, including plans to lift operating margins, introduce training programs aimed at enhancing food quality, and provide financial backing for franchisee store renovation investments. The business improvement measures were disclosed ahead of the investor day event, set to take place at the company’s Chicago headquarters at 9:30 a.m. ET.

In June, McDonald's unveiled its "McDonald’s NEXT" growth strategy, which centers on new store designs, tastier meals and beverages, consumer-driven product innovation, and elevated customer service standards. However, until now, management had offered few specifics on how the plan would be executed or what its financial impact might be over the coming years.

These strategic adjustments come as the company contends with sluggish sales growth, as persistent high inflation has led consumers to dine out less frequently. A key pillar of the strategy is store remodeling. McDonald's requires franchisees to complete a full store renovation roughly every decade. Additionally, the company will launch a program called "Restaurant NEXT," which encompasses comprehensive upgrades to equipment, technology, and operational systems, along with the introduction of ArchIQ, an AI-powered restaurant operating system.

All of these upgrades require substantial capital investment from franchisees. McDonald's will also provide financial support through rent reductions and direct funding. By 2036, the company plans to invest up to $8.5 billion to facilitate franchisee store upgrade initiatives, with approximately $5 billion of that support expected to be deployed by 2030. Between 2027 and 2030, in addition to the roughly $3 billion in annual routine capital expenditures, McDonald's will allocate an extra $1.5 to $2 billion in capital spending each year to accelerate the "NEXT" strategy. (The company's 2025 financial report showed capital expenditures of $3.4 billion for that year.)

Beyond routine facade refreshes, the corporate office is imposing additional store renovation investment requirements on franchisees, which could spark pushback given that beef costs and labor expenses have already been squeezing operator profit margins. Nevertheless, management believes the upgrades will pay off for individual stores. According to McDonald's estimates, efficiency gains are expected to boost average annual cash flow per U.S. location by approximately $100,000, allowing franchisees to recoup their renovation investment in about four years.

While increasing spending on store upgrades, McDonald's says it plans to cut costs in other areas, though it has not offered specific details. The company is targeting an operating margin of 50% to 55% by 2030, compared to 46.1% in 2025, as reported in its financial filings. A portion of the margin improvement is expected to come from optimizing selling, general, and administrative expenses (G&A). McDonald's projects that G&A costs will fall to 1.9% of system-wide sales by 2030, down from a forecasted 2.2% in 2026.

The company is also looking to drive global sales growth, partially through new store openings. McDonald's expects new unit expansion to contribute approximately 2.5% to system-wide sales growth next year. However, the pace of store expansion is expected to moderate in subsequent years, with new locations projected to add only about 2% to system-wide sales growth by 2030.

In recent years, the burger chain has reduced its reliance on core beef products for revenue, placing greater emphasis on chicken and beverage categories. McDonald's aims to increase its global market share in each of these two categories by 1.5 percentage points by 2030. Still, the company is not abandoning its burger business and remains committed to maintaining its leadership in the beef burger segment. To that end, it will launch a multi-year employee training program called "Make It Golden" designed to ensure consistent output, improve product quality, and enhance customer service. The program is slated to roll out on October 5, which marks the 124th anniversary of the birth of Ray Kroc, the man who transformed a small hamburger stand into a global fast-food empire.