WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – McDonald’s has cited the Zionist regime’s aggression in Gaza as a factor in the fast food giant missing its first quarterly sales target in nearly four years.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said that the war had had a “disheartening” effect on sales in West Asian countries and other Muslim-majority nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
“So long as this conflict, this war, is going on … we’re not expecting to see any significant improvement in this,” Kempczinski said in a conference call.
“It’s a human tragedy, what’s going on, and I think that does weigh on brands like ours.”
Sales growth for the fast food chain’s division for West Asia, China and India during October-December reached 0.7 percent – far below market expectations of 5.5 percent.
The slump comes after customers in Muslim countries called for a boycott of McDonald’s in response to its Israeli franchisee donating thousands of free meals to the Zionist regime’s military.
Following the announcement by McDonald’s Israel, franchisees in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain and Turkey distanced themselves from the donations and collectively pledged millions of dollars in aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
While Chicago-based McDonald’s is known as one of the most iconic U.S. brands, most of its restaurants worldwide are locally owned and operated.
Kempczinski said last month that the onslaught and “associated misinformation” was having a “meaningful” effect on business in the region.
McDonald’s is among a number of Western brands that have been hit with boycotts due to their perceived support for the regime.
Last week, cafe chain Starbucks slashed its annual sales forecast, citing a slump in business in the Middle East.
Despite its flagging fortunes in Muslim countries, McDonald’s posted relatively strong results overall, with global sales growing 3.4 percent, compared with 8.8 percent in the previous quarter.
“We remain confident in the resilience of our business amid macro challenges that will persist in 2024,” Kempczinski said.
Starbucks, the American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roasteries headquartered in Seattle, has also seen billions of dollars worth of losses due to global Palestine solidarity boycotts.
This came after the company in October sued the Workers United union, which represents thousands of baristas at about 360 U.S. stores after the union posted a pro-Palestinian message on social media, what the protesters saw as pro-Israel.
Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan said Tuesday that the company’s sales in the Middle East struggled, but boycotts also hurt its U.S. cafes.
Last week, Starbucks also cut its annual sales forecast, partly due to fewer customers visiting stores in the Middle East.
In December 2023, the losses of Starbucks stood at $12 billion in value during the last quarter, due to Palestinian solidarity boycotts and employee strikes.
Other American companies including Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s as well as brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Wix, Puma, and Zara that have pro-Israeli stances or have financial ties with Israel and investments there also came under fire and faced boycott calls.
Similar sales patterns are also expected to be seen in other American multinational companies, especially the ones operating in West Asia.