McDonald's Faces Financial Risk and Investor Concerns After Worldwide System Outages

By Thea Felicity

Mar 15, 2024 10:49 AM EDT

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TOPSHOT - People stand in front of a temporary closed McDonald's in Shimbashi district of Tokyo on March 15, 2024. Hungry McDonald's customers in parts of Asia had trouble ordering at stores, on cellphones and at electronic kiosks after a system outage.
(Photo : Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)

ABC News reported that McDonald's experienced worldwide system outages, which caused some restaurants to close temporarily and prompted complaints on social media. 

When asked to provide explanations, the company described it as a "technology outage" and assured customers they were working to fix it. They clarified that it wasn't due to a cyberattack but didn't provide further details.

Reports came from various locations, with McDonald's outlets in Japan, Hong Kong, and elsewhere citing system failures affecting operations. Downdetector also noticed issues with the McDonald's app.

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How McDonald's System Outages Affected Its Worldwide Franchises

In Denmark, the McDonald's system outage was already resolved, and its restaurants were open to business again. Meanwhile, some locations like Bangkok, Milan, and London were gradually returning to normalcy. 

However, during the outage, some places could only accept cash payments and had makeshift signs explaining the technical difficulties.

Technicians reportedly, unclear if in-house or hired by McDonald's, worked to restore services, with some outlets being offline for a few hours before getting back online. 

Unlike resolved cases, however, McDonald's customers from Australia to the U.K. took to social media to express frustrations over ordering problems, with some sharing photos of unavailable kiosks. 

Interestingly, a McDonald's franchise owner in Sweden pinpointed the interconnected nature of all McDonald's systems, suggesting that a global network issue most likely caused the disruption.

What Could Happen After McDonald's System Outages?

Unfortunately, McDonald's has yet to release a statement regarding what really happened behind the outages- many believe it could happen again.

The shutdowns of several McDonald's franchises worldwide, as reported earlier, probably equated to financial loss. 

Also, because McDonald's didn't give clear reasons for the outages and just said it wasn't a cyberattack, people might worry about how safe and reliable their technology is. This could make customers and investors less confident in McDonald's, which might affect their stock value in return.

It also doesn't help that the restaurant is already being boycotted due to its affiliation with the Israel-Hamas war, as reported by VCPost.

READ MORE: McDonald's Admits Losing Customers as Lower-Income Americans Opt to Cook at Home Instead

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