By Heather Haddon

High ground-beef prices have hurt restaurants, particularly burger chains that rely on meat for the bulk of their menus. Those pressures are expected to continue this year.

"We've have unprecedented high levels of beef inflation," Shake Shack Chief Executive Rob Lynch said in an interview. The fast-casual burger chain is working with its suppliers to help mitigate some of those costs, but still expects elevated beef prices to pinch this year.

McDonald's, which buys around 670 million pounds of American beef a year, expects beef inflation to remain upwards of 10% this year in its U.S. business compared with 2025 levels. Other commodities experiencing lower prices increases will help ease some of the burden, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said.

"We've been able to offset that pressure on beef with other elements of our supply chain," Borden said in an interview.

On Friday, Wendy's said it expects 4% inflation of food, ingredients and materials for its U.S.-company operated restaurants this year, driven by beef.

Rising beef prices hurt the profitability of U.S. Burger King operators last year, down to averages of about $185,000 from roughly $205,000 in 2024. Restaurant Brands International, which owns the chain, said that beef prices were up more than 20% last year, and told investors Thursday it hopes the inflation starts to cool later this year.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2026 11:54 ET (16:54 GMT)

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