McDonald’s To Close 200 Restaurants, More Than Half Inside Walmart As The Coronavirus Eats Sales

McDonald’s (MCD) will permanently close 200 of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants in 2020. The restaurant closures will focus primarily on locations in Walmart stores that are “low-volume,” USA Today reported.

The announcement was made during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday. McDonald’s said the closings are being accelerated after being planned for future years.

The call also focused on the impact the coronavirus is having on the fast-food chain.

“Within a matter of weeks, the McDonald's system made operational modifications across 30,000 restaurants while closing and then reopening another 9,000 restaurants. We introduced new safety procedures in all our restaurants, modified our menus, and developed new contactless ways to serve our customers,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said.

To date, McDonald’s has reopened about 96% of its restaurants worldwide. The effort, however, has been paused. The company also is implementing a face mask requirement beginning Aug. 1.

While McDonald’s drive-thrus and delivery options remained open during the coronavirus pandemic, the company reported a comparable-store sales decrease of 39% in April and 12% by June. Second-quarter net income declined 68% to $484 million, with same-store sales falling 24% for the quarter.

In the U.S., McDonald’s saw same-store sales decrease by 9%, which was a departure from last year’s increase of 8% for the same time period. Same-store sales also decreased by 41% in international markets, McDonald’s said.

Shares of McDonald's were trading at $197.18 as of 3:37 p.m. ET, down $4.07 or 2.02%.