The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, July 30, edition that McDonald's global same-store sales declined for the first time in nearly four years in the second quarter. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that this was attributed to inflation-affected consumers opting out of eating out or choosing more affordable dining options. McDonald's is implementing strategies to address this, including meal deals and introducing new menu items. However, it anticipates that same-store sales will continue to decline over the next few quarters. McDonald's chief executive officer Chris Kempczinski said Monday, "It's clear that our value leadership gap has recently shrunk." Sales at locations open at least a year fell 1 per cent in the April-June period, the first decline since the final quarter of 2020, when the pandemic shuttered stores. For the second quarter, revenue was flat at $6.5-billion and just off the $6.6-billion that Wall Street was expecting (all figures U.S.). McDonald's net income fell 12 per cent to $2-billion or $2.80 a share. Excluding one-time items such as restructuring charges, McDonald's earned $2.97 a share. That was far from the per-share profit of $3.07 that industry analysts had forecast.