McDonald's Corp on Thursday said it plans to spend $2.9 billion to $3 billion next year to open 1,500 to 1,600 new restaurants and remodel about 1,000 others. The world's biggest hamburger chain, which has struggled to meaningfully expand sales after years of outpacing its rivals, also offered 2014 forecasts for commodity costs and other expenses.
It expects overall commodity costs to increase 1 percent to 2 percent in the United States and 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent in Europe. It also expects general and administrative costs to increase about $200 million, due to such things as higher employee expenses and costs associated with its owner/operator convention and Winter Olympic sponsorship.