McDonald's Hits All-Time High As Wall Street Cheers Replacement Of Cashiers With Kiosks

CNBC ^ | 06/22/17 | Tae Kim

[Enlightened1]

Cowen says McDonald's will upgrade 2,500 restaurants to its "Experience of the Future" technology by year-end, which includes digital ordering kiosks.

The firm raises its rating on McDonald's to outperform from market perform and price target for the shares to $180 from $142.

Same store sales estimate for 2018 raised to 3 percent from 2 percent.

McDonald's shares hit an all-time high on Tuesday as Wall Street expects sales to increase from new digital ordering kiosks that will replace cashiers in 2,500 restaurants.

Cowen raised its rating on McDonald's shares to outperform from market perform because of the technology upgrades, which are slated for the fast-food chain's restaurants this year.

McDonald's shares rallied 26 percent this year through Monday compared to the S&P 500's 10 percent return.

Andrew Charles from Cowen cited plans for the restaurant chain to roll out mobile ordering across 14,000 U.S. locations by the end of 2017. The technology upgrades, part of what McDonald's calls "Experience of the Future," includes digital ordering kiosks that will be offered in 2,500 restaurants by the end of the year and table delivery.

"MCD is cultivating a digital platform through mobile ordering and Experience of the Future (EOTF), an in-store technological overhaul most conspicuous through kiosk ordering and table delivery," Charles wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. "Our analysis suggests efforts should bear fruit in 2018 with a combined 130 bps [basis points] contribution to U.S. comps [comparable sales]."

He raised his 2018 U.S. same store sales growth estimate for the fast-food chain to 3 percent from 2 percent.

The analyst raised his price target for McDonald's to $180 from $142, representing 17.5 percent upside from Monday's close. He also raised his 2018 earnings-per-share forecast to $6.87 from $6.71 versus the Wall Street consensus of $6.83.

[billyboy15]

All businesses will replace employees with automation as soon as it becomes economically feasible to do so.

[BobL]

“$15 an hour didn’t bring it on but it surely expedited it. Now the remaining burger flippers need to push for $30.”

True - lots of factors. Increasing (and getting cheaper) automation, plus a big one: OBAMACARE. This is just pushing things even faster.

[SaveFerris]

[In one McD a clerk, shift manager and a district manager and a customer who were not smart enough to work in a MacDonald’s. I wonder if the line clerk got fired.]

Reminds me of one corporate pretty boy dude at a refurbished Arby’s.

Grand reopening - just happened to be there.

I needed something and stood there waiting while corp boy made a big deal about trash removal. I must have been there 5 minutes or so. Not one acknowledgement from any of them. I was still waiting on other food so I put up with it.

1/2 of this country is clueless.

Oh, I’m sure they got rid of the line clerk. He had a clue and acted on it. That’s just too practical, anymore.

[JBW1949]

Agreed...It’s much easier to check what you’ve got if you go inside to order...

[jimfree]

Very bad first use experience. I do not like this design anymore than Burger King’s.

[SaveFerris]

That’s about the main one used here in the Midwest it seems.

One McD a little further up the road - you get 2 6-piece McNuggest for $3 total. Cheaper than the meal deal which is only 10 piece if you get $1 drink and $1 fries (if you want fries with that). It’s about 12 miles while the other 2 closet to me are about 1 mile in either direction.

I try to shop the cheap guys when I cnn.

Here you get a free 1/4 lb with cheese BOGO if you fill out the online survey. It’s just a few minutes.

At the cheap guys I get a 1/4 lb with cheese meal deal - so i wind up with 2 1/4 with cheese, fries and drink.

About $5.43 with tax. Not bad.

[jjsheridan5]

Yes I think people are badly underestimating how strong a push there will be for basic income.

Newly repackaged socialism

Was Milton Friedman a socialist when he advocated basic income?

Would the reduction in bureaucracy that he believed would result constitute "socialism"? Or was he being socialist because he believed that by injecting money at the spending level, as opposed to the banking level, it would improve free markets? Or his belief that universal income would end the welfare trap -- was that where he was being socialist?

[SaveFerris]

oops s/b

“you get 2 6-piece McNuggets for $3 total.”

[miliantnutcase]

You can’t leave us hanging like that!

[GodAndCountryFirst]

Minimum wage laws are unconstitutional. Wages should be set by market conditions. Period. Some people are only worth a couple bucks an hour. We need to eliminate minimum wages and also all forms of government welfare. Do those two things and we’ll have full employment and QUICK!

[SaveFerris]

I’ll FReepmail ya in a couple minutes....:)

[SkyPilot]

They need to eliminate the human link in food preparation as well.

[SaveFerris]

[I’ve found that workers at grocery stores, Home Depot, etc. are so pleasant. They are almost always ready to show you how to use the self-check, eventually eliminating their own jobs.]

There won’t even be self-check when this is widely-deployed.

From there, ain’t ain’t too far to “forehead or right hand”.....

This is from 2007 - they’re already being deployed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob532iEpqk

IBM RFID Commercial - most of the Bible Prophecy ping list have seen this from me several times - but some new members haven’t so here we go again.

[Mears]

“replaced by robots, who will buy the hamburgers “

—

Well robots,of course.

The next big thing will be robots with digestive systems.

.

[SaveFerris]

I’d love to see undercover restaurant shows nail her and put her in prison.

Put me on the jury - I’ll make sure she gets the maximum sentence.

[SkyPilot]

WaWa subs has had ordering kiosks for almost 10 years now.

[the_individual2014]

I agree 100% it is getting worse these days to deal with the public and to add to your story if that incident happened at one of the mom and pop places I go to eat at times back in the states that customer would be asked to leave and never come back, maybe file assault charges, that is a huge difference compared to MCD and corporate chain businesses.

Also shit like this is one of reasons why when I come back from being stationed in the Middle East, I am moving to Texas and looking for work in the Oil sector, Manufacturing sector work, Customer service jobs suck these days, and throw in the PC culture, and bitchy women which I find the worst who will complain at the drop of the hat, its not worth it, and I’m tired of rolling over and kissing so much ass anyways.

- Just my two cents.

[cableguymn]

What ff joint delivers to the table? I’m lucky if they drop it on the counter.

[deport]

Lots or many of fast foods don’t take your order to the table.
It comes to the front counter and you pick it up there. I’m
referring to McDs, Taco Bell, etc types.

[sheana]

They can do the jobs the illegals won't do. 😂