Survey finds grim outlook among McDonald’s franchisees

The latest canvass by financial analyst Mark Kalinowski finds considerable dismay about near-term business prospects and interactions between franchisor and franchisee.

McDonald’s franchisees are more pessimistic about their business prospects for the next six months than they’ve been at any other time in the 11 years they’ve been periodically surveyed by Kalinowski.

In his most recent canvass of McDonald’s franchisees, the Janney Capital Markets analyst also found that relations with the franchisor are at the lowest levels they’ve been in at least 11 years.

The 32 franchisees who responded to Kalinowski’s survey say their same-store sales for March fell year-over-year by 3.7 percent, a worse performance than the consensus among stock analysts. The franchisees forecast April comps at -1.5 percent.

In his analysis, Kalinowski noted that McDonald’s is being challenged by new competitors and cited Chick-fil-A as a particularly potent rival.

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