McDonald's Mulls Rent Deferrals for Franchisees, Other Steps to Help Weather Coronavirus

Because of chaotic and uncertain market conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) stated today that it might defer rent payments for its franchisees to help them maintain liquidity during the disruption. The company made this statement in a recent report filed with the SEC, in which the Golden Arches cited rent deferrals as just one example of the ways it might aid in bolstering franchisee resilience.

McDonald's report noted that while about 95% of its Chinese restaurants are operating again, and nearly 100% are fully open for business in Japan, the situation elsewhere around the world is much less rosy. The company declared that "the negative financial impact to our results cannot be reasonably estimated, but could be material" and observed that the length and final effects of the pandemic are unpredictable at this point.

Image source: McDonald's.

Source Fool.com