Forbes – McDonald’s is among the American companies to have been impacted the most by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a letter posted to LinkedIn last month the “war and associated misinformation” was hurting the company’s performance in the Middle East, pointing to claims McDonalds is supporting Israeli soldiers despite having issued no statements of support.
The “disheartening and ill-founded” claims were met with calls for boycotts of the restaurant’s franchises in the region.
McDonald’s isn’t alone—Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Nestle have all faced backlash in the Middle East since the war began. Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan said last week consumer anger over the war hurt sales last quarter.
Starbucks reported $9.43 billion in net sales last quarter and a 5% increase in global sales, short of estimates that put growth closer to 7%.
Same-store sales growth in the international market was 7% last quarter, the company reported, well below expectations of 13.2%. Starbucks has said stores have been hit with protests and vandalism in the Middle East and North America.
BIG NUMBER: 10%.
That’s how many of McDonald’s roughly 18,000 restaurants overseas are located in the Middle East, according to the Journal.
