Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

A lot of McD's customers are looking for a fairly cheap, fast meal, duh.  So, they can't just raise their prices at will and no suffer repercussions.  Other options will become more appealing, including packing sandwiches.  Even if there was collusion with BK and W and whoever else and they all raised prices beyond what was needed to offset greater cost of doing business, some folks would find alternatives.

Competition is a real thing, and it keeps companies from profiting beyond a certain level IF they have fair competition.  And if you look at the profit margins of major food providers, you'll see they have not magically gone stratospheric as folks like Bernie and others have been claiming.  Their claims are ridiculous.  Profit margins have shrunk for many companies because of higher costs of their goods and salaries.

A lot of McD's customers are looking for a fairly cheap, fast meal, duh.  So, they can't just raise their prices at will and no suffer repercussions.  Other options will become more appealing, including packing sandwiches.  Even if there was collusion with BK and W and whoever else and they all raised prices beyond what was needed to offset greater cost of doing business, some folks would find alternatives.

Competition is a real thing, and it keeps companies from profiting beyond a certain level IF they have fair competition.  And if you look at the profit margins of major food providers, you'll see they have not magically gone stratospheric as folks like Bernie and others have been claiming.  Their claims are ridiculous.  Profit margins have shrunk for many companies because of higher costs of their goods and salaries.

The last word is adorable.

That's fine, but I'd wager the average McDonalds customer doesn't have that option.

I agree. I added the caveat that I'm probably not anywhere near the middle of the bell curve demographic of a fast food customer. But I *was* a customer, even if infrequently, and now I'm not.

And on the other end of the bell curve, you have people that will pack a lunch, or go hungry, or eat less. All of which cuts into McD's revenue.

Note: I'm not saying that all this inflation and higher prices is actually hurting McD's. They may actually be benefiting from customers who frequented more expensive dining options and are now moving DOWN market to McD's. It's complicated.

My only point is that McD's is not immune to market competition and they can't just raise prices whenever/however they want.

Poor people eat cheap food.
McDonalds is relatively cheap food.
Poor people reproduce at a higher rate.
McDonalds knows more customers are always around the next corner.
A 10-year dip is temporary.

They may have expanded too much leading up to 2014.  They could have cleaned house on poorly-run franchises.  There's 100 different reasons the dip could have happened.  Gonna need a deeper dive.

But yeah, the poverty thing, combined with the consistency model + the volume/availability = an institution.  Minor corrections only, like driving.  The money will come in.

Even before the crazy inflation (I'm guessing 2022) I bought McD's lunch for the family (2 adults, 3 kids), and it was $45. Back in June I bought Taco Bell for dinner for 4 of us (excluding the youngest) and it was $38. 

Poor people may not be able to afford that. PB&J at home is MUCH less expensive. 

That's fine, but I'd wager the average McDonalds customer doesn't have that option.

I don't know about that.  I eat at McD's pretty often, like 1-2 times per month (gross I know), and I can afford to eat pretty much anywhere I want.  But I go there because their drivethru is always super fast, and their food is consistent and I like it.  

I unfortunately eat fast food a lot, and I've found that the operations for McD consistently outdoes the OPS for most of the other chains.  BK, the drive-thru is always slow (and dirty), Wendy's the food is inconsistent, I can go to half-dozen FF restaurants and I'm always amazed at how poorly they are ran.  

  It's amazing how much our "culture" has traveled  the world.

Super amazing, considering they're all just barely getting by....

That's fine, but I'd wager the average McDonalds customer doesn't have that option.

every McDonalds customer has a better option than McDonalds
EVERY one
poor choices

Does anyone else find it hilarious that there's a suspense/thriller movie coming out called Conclave, about choosing the next pope?

They really are running out of ideas.