McDonald's says it gets 10 McDelivery orders per second - and Wall Street agrees it's the next 'big frontier' for the fast-food giant
- McDonald's CEO Stephen Easterbook said on the company's most recent earnings call that delivery is the fast food giant's next "big frontier."
- The company's customers are placing 10 McDelivery orders every second worldwide, Easterbrook added.
- In 2019, McDonald's delivery business is expected to generate $4 billion, or about 4% of global sales.
- Some Wall Street analysts are echoing Easterbrook's sentiment that delivery could be the next big growth opportunity for the company.
- Watch McDonald's trade live on Markets Insider.
"Whilst we're on this call, customers will likely place 36,000 McDelivery orders."
McDonald's CEO Stephen Easterbrook said this on the company's third-quarter earnings call Tuesday, and it reflects the massive scale the fast-food giant's delivery initiative has already reached.
Easterbrook said McDonald's customers are now placing about 10 McDelivery orders every second. For 2019, the company's delivery business is projected to reach $4 billion, or about 4% of total global system-wide sales, he said. That figure represents a 300% increase from the segment's revenue in 2016.
The company's UK business delivered its 54th consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales growth driven partly by improvements in delivery, analysts from JPMorgan wrote in a note Wednesday.
"Delivery remains a big frontier for our business," Easterbrook said. "Our McDelivery global average check remains steady at 2x the average at restaurant check. Year-over-year, we continue to see double-digit or higher McDelivery comp sales increases across many of our major markets."
Delivery was also a core driver of same-store sales growth in the third quarter, Credit Suisse said Wednesday. The firm expects McDonald's to continue developing partnerships with companies like Uber Eats and DoorDash to expand delivery.
Domestic same-store sales grew 4.8% in the third quarter, falling below analyst estimates but still rising despite a 2% drop in traffic.
Analysts from UBS view delivery as a growth opportunity for McDonald's to improve same-store sales in 2020, they said in a note Wednesday.
Shares of McDonald's are up 12.5% year-to-date.
