McDonald’s Rolls Out Largest Burger Ever, Clocking in at More Than 1,000 Calories

McDonald’s has decided that it knows what the public wants and needs: a bigger burger with more than a thousand calories per serving.

The Daily Beast reports that, with its massive 14 ounces and 1,025 calories, the Big Arch is set to become McDonald’s first global addition since Chicken McNuggets were added to the menu in 1983.

“It’s a quintessential McDonald’s burger with a twist on our iconic, familiar flavors,” said president and CEO Chris Kempczinski on a call with Wall Street analysts on Monday, July 29.

He continued: “Consumers still recognize us as the value leader versus our key competitors, but it’s clear that our value leadership gap has recently shrunk. We are working to fix that with pace.”

The Big Arch consists of two patties, “tangy McDonald’s sauce,” “crispy toppings,” and melted cheese. There are only two countries where it is currently available: Portugal and Canada. Germany will be added to the list in late August.

The fast-food chain has not yet announced when it will be available in the U.S., but “when it finally arrives, it will also launch globally in over 100 countries and nearly 42,000 stores,” according to The Daily Beast.

The massive burger announcement coincides with McDonald’s admission that its global sales have declined for the first time since 2020 and that it is preparing a “comprehensive rethink” to turn the company around. This stems from the company’s recently reported Q2 earnings, which missed previous estimates.

On Monday morning, July 29, the company reported its Q2 results, which in terms of revenue, profitability, and same-store sales were below Wall Street estimates. This demonstrates that not even the largest fast-food chain in America is exempt from the challenging financial climate.

For the quarter that concluded on June 30, McDonald’s reported revenue of $6.49 billion, which was 2.01% higher than the same period the previous year but less than the $6.63 billion that the firm had predicted. Furthermore, according to Bloomberg consensus statistics, adjusted earnings of $2.97 fell short of the $3.07 average projection.

Including company-owned stores and franchisees, global same-store sales decreased by 1% as opposed to forecasts of a gain of 0.84%. The metric has decreased for the first time in a quarter since the COVID-19 shutdowns in Q4 2020.

“Consumers are more discriminating with their spend,” Kempczinski said. According to the CEO, the group’s main priorities are “accelerating strategic growth drivers like chicken and loyalty” and “outstanding execution” of delivering “reliable everyday value.”