Weight-loss drugs are suppressing appetites for millions of Americans, threatening to upend dining habits at fast-food chains and casting a shadow over the restaurant industry’s long-term growth.
The stark warning came from Redburn Atlantic, which on Tuesday issued a rare double downgrade on McDonald’s Corp. (NASDAQ:MCD) — cutting the stock from Buy to Sell — amid growing concern that appetite-suppressing medications such as Novo Nordisk A/S’s (NYSE:NVO) Wegovy and Eli Lilly and Co.’s (NYSE:LLY) Zepbound are reshaping consumer behaviors.
Redburn’s analyst Chris Luyckx said the behavioral effects of GLP-1 drugs are deeper than previously believed and could cause a cascading demand shock for restaurants reliant on habitual and group dining.
Is This The End Of America’s Fast-Food Boom?
Luyckx estimates McDonald’s could lose 28 million annual visits, amounting to $481.5 million in revenue — a 0.9% drag on its systemwide sales.
While that may appear manageable today, the analyst warned that the risk …