RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
And our next story involves no mystery. Sales at McDonald's are way down, and so the CEO is stepping down. Don Thompson has been CEO for just two and a half years. The McDonald's Board of Directors announced he will retire at the age of 51. NPR's Sonari Glinton reports.
SONARI GLINTON, BYLINE: In the last quarter, McDonald's net income fell by about $300 million. It's not just McDonald's that's struggling. Bonnie Riggs is a restaurant analyst with the NPD group. She says fast-food joints are facing competition, not only from fast casual chains like your Chipotles, Shake Shack and Five Guys, but a hurried shopper is even more likely to stop by the grocery store for, say, a prepared sandwich.
BONNIE RIGGS: Or I might go get a shake and bake pizza. Or I might go and get a rotisserie chicken and a salad and everything prepared, and I just take it home and put it on the table.
GLINTON: Riggs says there is a shift in taste as Americans look for more fresh food and healthier foods. Burger restaurants, though, have tried to compete.
RIGGS: What has happened is that it slowed down service. It's not as fast as it was. And, you know, people go to fast-food restaurants for convenience.
GLINTON: McDonald's gets a new CEO, company veteran Steve Easterbrook, next month as it cuts its construction budget for new restaurants to the lowest point in five years. Sonari Glinton, NPR News.