财经外刊精读 · 互动版

Fewer burgers, bigger bills

汉堡卖得少了，账单却更贵了
2026 年 11 月 6 日 · 星期五 A2 级 · 入门 本期：快餐 · 同店销售 · 客单价
A cheeseburger on a wooden table
A burger is cheap to make and easy to price up. That gap is the whole story of this quarter.
Photo: Unsplash (stock image, not the original article’s picture).

30 秒速读

先建立框架，再进原文。默认只给英文，点摘要段落（或右上角「译」）出中文对译，点数字卡展开中文。

McDonald’s sold fewer meals in the US last quarter. Sales fell just 0.2%, because each visitor paid more.

麦当劳上一季度在美国卖出的餐更少了，同店销售却只跌 0.2%——因为每一位真的进店的客人花得更多。人少了、单子大了，这就是这份财报的全部张力。

−0.2%
US sales fall — the first drop in over a year
美国同店销售跌幅，一年多来首次下滑
−2.6%
Fast-food traffic — fewer visits across the US industry
全美快餐客流跌幅（行业口径）
$3.57
Profit per share — against $3.38 that analysts expected
调整后每股利润，高于分析师预期的 3.38 美元
8.4%
Burger King’s US sales — the best of six big chains
汉堡王美国同店销售增幅，六大连锁中最好
4th
Its rank — of six big US chains, by sales growth
麦当劳在六大连锁中的排名（按销售增幅）
$1.93
The dividend — paid per share, after a 4 per cent rise
每股股息，上调 4% 之后的水平

原文精读 · Full Text

15 段（含标题）。点每段右上角的「译」展开中文翻译与结构配色；配图已就近排在相关段落之后。
颜色 = 句子成分，中英同色表示对应
主语 Subject 谓语 / 动词 Verb 宾语 · 表语 Object 从句 · 非谓语 Clause 状语 Adverbial 插入语 · 引述 Attribution
TITLE
Fewer burgers, bigger bills
汉堡卖得更少，账单却更贵了
PARA 01
McDonald’s is one of the biggest fast-food companies in the world. It has more than 40,000 restaurants around the world. On Wednesday, it told investors its summer results.
麦当劳是全球最大的快餐公司之一。它有四万多家餐厅遍布全球。周三，它向投资者公布夏季业绩。
PARA 02
Its US restaurants sold fewer meals from July to September. Sales at older US restaurants fell 0.2 per cent. People call this same-store sales.1 But it was the first fall in more than a year.
它在美国的餐厅卖出更少的餐从七月到九月。美国老店的销售额下跌0.2%。人们把…称为这个「同店销售」。但它是一年多来的首次下滑。
PARA 03
Why? Fewer people came through the door. The company calls this number the guest count.2 When the guest count falls, a restaurant sells fewer meals.
为什么？更少的人走进店门。公司把…称为这个数字「来客数」。当来客数下降时，餐厅卖出更少的餐。
Fewer people came through the door, and each one paid more, so sales barely moved.
Fewer people came through the door, and each one paid more, so sales barely moved. 同店销售只算开业满一年的门店：进店的人少了，单笔却更大，销售额才只掉 0.2%。 Photo: Unsplash (stock image, not the original article’s picture).
PARA 04
But something else happened. Each person who did come paid more. The company calls this the average check.3 A higher check made up most of the lost sales.
但另一件事发生了。每个人真的来了的人付更多。公司把…称为这个「客单价」。更高的客单价弥补大部分流失的销售额。
PARA 05
In simple words, McDonald’s sells less food to fewer people. But it charges more for each order.
换句话说，麦当劳卖出更少的食物给更少的人。但它收取每单更多的钱。
PARA 06
This is a choice, not an accident. In April, the company added a value menu.4 Many items cost less than 3 dollars. It also added a 4 dollar breakfast meal.
这是一个选择，不是意外。四月，公司增加一份超值菜单。很多商品花不到 3 美元。它还增加一份 4 美元的早餐。
Items under 3 dollars and a 4 dollar breakfast: the company pushed prices down on purpose.
Items under 3 dollars and a 4 dollar breakfast: the company pushed prices down on purpose. 3 美元以下的商品和 4 美元早餐，是这家公司自己把价格往下压的一步棋。 Photo: Unsplash (stock image, not the original article’s picture).
PARA 07
The cheap menu brought back some people. But it did not bring back enough of them. Bosses said the offers brought fewer extra visits than they hoped.
便宜的菜单带回一些人。但它没有带回足够多的人。高管说这些优惠带来的额外客流少于他们的期望。
PARA 08
The numbers still looked good to investors. Profit per share5 was 3.57 dollars. Analysts expected 3.38 dollars. So the company did better than they thought.
这些数字仍然看起来不错对投资者而言。每股利润是3.57 美元。分析师预期3.38 美元。所以公司做得比他们想的更好。
PARA 09
The share price6 rose about 5 per cent that day. That may look strange. Sales fell, but the share price went up.
股价上涨当天约 5%。这看起来可能奇怪。销售下跌了，但股价上涨了。
PARA 10
Other chains did worse. Taco Bell’s US sales fell 4 per cent. Wingstop’s fell 5.4 per cent. America’s fast-food shops as a group, saw 2.6 per cent fewer visits.
其他连锁表现更差。塔可钟的美国销售下跌4%。Wingstop 的销售下跌5.4%。美国的快餐店整体来看，见到客流减少 2.6%。
Chart 1 | Six big US chains, one quarter Same-store sales, change from a year earlier, per cent 0 Burger King +8.4% Starbucks +7.7% Domino’s +0.3% McDonald’s −0.2% Taco Bell −4.0% Wingstop −5.4%
Chart 1 | One chain grew fast; McDonald’s fell just below zero. Quarters ending in September 2026. Green marks a fall and red a rise, in the Chinese convention. Sources: company results releases, October and November 2026.
PARA 11
But one chain did much better. Burger King’s US sales rose 8.4 per cent. That was the best of six big chains. McDonald’s was fourth.
但有一家连锁做得好得多。汉堡王的美国销售涨了8.4%。那是六大连锁中最好的。麦当劳排第四。
PARA 12
In simple words, they are racing price against visitors. If prices go up too fast, people stop coming.
换句话说，他们在拿价格和客流赛跑。如果价格涨得太快，人们停下不再来。
PARA 13
Next year, the company expects higher costs for food and paper. It did not say exactly how much. Higher costs may push up prices again.
明年，公司预计食材与包装成本上升。它没有说具体多少。更高的成本可能推高价格。
PARA 14
So the question is simple. Can McDonald’s keep prices high without losing too many people? The next three months will show.
所以问题是简单的。麦当劳能不能保持高价又不失去太多客人？接下来三个月会给出答案。

核心术语 · Glossary

编号与正文上标一一对应，点正文里的数字可跳到对应卡片。默认只显示英文解释（练阅读）；想看中文，点卡片标题。
1same-store sales/ˌseɪm stɔː ˈseɪlz/ 点击看中文解释 ↓

Sales at shops that were open in the same months last year. It shows if a shop is busier, not if the company opened more shops.

Why it matters here ▸ McDonald’s US figure fell 0.2 per cent, the first fall in over a year.

同店销售：只算去年同几个月也开着的门店的销售额。它看的是「这家店本身有没有更忙」，不是「公司有没有多开店」。

拓展知识：为什么只看老店？因为开新店会让总销售额变大，但那不代表生意变好。同店销售剔除了新店，剩下的是「同一批店，今年比去年多卖了多少」。所以它是最难造假的一个数：关店、开店、汇率都动不了它。麦当劳这次的 −0.2%，意思就是「同一批美国门店，今年夏天比去年夏天少卖了 0.2%」。
Extended note: New shops lift total sales without proving anything. Same-store sales keep the shop list fixed, so the number only moves when the shops themselves sell more or less.
2guest count/ɡest kaʊnt/ 点击看中文解释 ↓

The number of people who buy something. Shops count orders, so one person buying twice counts twice.

Why it matters here ▸ At McDonald’s this number fell, which is why fewer meals were sold.

来客数：有多少人买了东西。店里数的是「单」，所以一个人买两次算两次。

拓展知识：餐饮公司看两个数：来客数和客单价。来客数回答「有没有人来」，客单价回答「每人花多少」。两个数一起看才知道增长是健康的还是虚的——靠涨价撑起来的增长，人来少了就会断。麦当劳这次就是「来客数为负、客单价为正」。
Extended note: Guest count asks whether people came. The average check asks how much each one spent. Growth from price alone breaks as soon as visitors stop coming.
3average check/ˈævərɪdʒ tʃek/ 点击看中文解释 ↓

The money one person spends in one visit, on average. Menu prices and what people order both move it.

Why it matters here ▸ A higher check covered most of the sales that fewer visitors took away.

客单价：一位客人一次消费平均花多少钱。菜单价格和客人点了什么，都会影响它。

One quarter, two numbers moving in opposite waysVisitsfewerMoney per visitmoreDirection only, not to scale: the bill grew while the queue shrank.
拓展知识：客单价上涨有两个原因：涨价，或者客人点得更多更贵。这两件事的含义完全不同——涨价是公司主动的，加点是大杯、套餐是客人自选的。财报不会告诉你哪一半更多，所以看到客单价涨，要再问一句：是价涨了，还是量涨了？
Extended note: A higher check can come from higher prices or from bigger orders. The first is the company’s choice, the second the customer’s; results rarely separate them.
4value menu/ˈvæljuː ˈmenjuː/ 点击看中文解释 ↓

A list of cheap food, made to bring people in. The shop earns less on each item and hopes to sell more of them.

Why it matters here ▸ McDonald’s added one in April, with many items under 3 dollars.

超值菜单：一份便宜商品的清单，目的是把人吸引进店。单件赚得少，靠卖得多补回来。

拓展知识：超值菜单是用利润换客流。它有个反作用：原本会点正常价商品的客人，也改点便宜的，这叫「同类相食」。所以公司只在客流下滑时才用它，而且会同时推高价新品来拉回客单价。麦当劳四月上超值菜单、秋天又谈涨价，就是这个来回。
Extended note: A value menu trades margin for visits. It can also pull existing customers down to cheaper items, so shops pair it with pricier new products to lift the check again.
5profit/ˈprɒfɪt/ 点击看中文解释 ↓

The money a company keeps after it pays all its costs. Sales are not profit: a shop can sell a lot and still lose money.

Why it matters here ▸ Profit per share was 3.57 dollars, above the 3.38 dollars analysts expected.

利润：公司付完成本之后剩下的钱。销售额不等于利润——卖得多也可能亏钱。

拓展知识：「每股利润」是把总利润除以股份数，方便比较不同大小的公司。这里有个关键限定：3.57 美元是「调整后」的数字，剔掉了一笔 5,600 万美元的重组费用。公司喜欢用调整后口径，因为它更像「正常年份能赚多少」；但真金白银是按未调整的口径付的，看财报时两个数都要看。
Extended note: Earnings per share divides profit by the number of shares. The 3.57 dollar figure excludes a 56 million dollar restructuring charge, so it is flattering by design.
6share/ʃeə(r)/ 点击看中文解释 ↓

A small part of a company. People buy and sell these parts on a stock market.

Why it matters here ▸ The share price rose about 5 per cent, even though sales fell.

股份：一家公司被切成很多小份，每一份就是一股。人们在股票市场上买卖这些份额。

拓展知识：股价和业绩不是同一天的事。股价反映的是「大家原本以为会怎样」和「实际怎样」的差距。麦当劳销售跌了，但跌得比分析师担心的少，利润还超了预期，所以股价反而涨。这就是为什么读财报要先看预期，再看实际。
Extended note: A share price moves on the gap between what people expected and what happened. Sales fell, but by less than feared, so the shares rose.

俚语与短语 · Slang & Phrases

文中出现的口语化表达与固定搭配，共 6 条。默认只给英文解释（练阅读），点标题看中文；每条都能一键加入生词本。
make up for/meɪk ʌp fɔː(r)/

To replace something that was lost, or to balance it. Here, higher bills balanced most of the sales lost to fewer visitors.

A higher check made up most of the lost sales.

弥补、补上。这里指更高的客单价补回了大部分因人少而丢掉的销售额。

更高的客单价弥补了大部分流失的销售额。
come through the door/kʌm θruː ðə dɔː(r)/

A plain way to say that customers enter a shop. Retailers use it for the moment a visitor becomes a possible sale.

Fewer people came through the door.

进店。零售业的常用说法，指顾客走进店门、成为可能成交的人。

进店的人更少了。
go up/ɡəʊ ʌp/

To rise. Used for prices, costs, sales, almost any number. The opposite is go down.

Sales fell, but the share price went up.

上涨。价格、成本、销售、几乎任何数字都能用；反义是 go down。

销售跌了，股价却涨了。
do better than/duː ˈbetə ðæn/

To get a better result than someone or something else. Often used to compare a company with what analysts expected.

The company did better than they thought.

比…做得更好。常用来比较公司和分析师的预期。

公司做得比他们想的更好。
look good to/lʊk ɡʊd tuː/

To seem attractive or acceptable to someone. It describes an opinion, not a fact.

The numbers looked good to investors.

在某人看来不错。它说的是看法，不是事实——同一组数字，不同的人看可以得出相反结论。

这些数字在投资者看来不错。
stop coming/stɒp ˈkʌmɪŋ/

To end a habit of visiting. Shops fear this more than one bad month, because a lost customer rarely comes back quickly.

If prices go up too fast, people stop coming.

不再来了。店家最怕这个——丢掉的客人很少会很快回来。

如果价格涨得太快，人们就不来了。

读后测验 · Check Your Understanding

3 道题。点选项立即判分；解析需要单独点开。
Q1What happened to McDonald’s US sales?
正确答案：B
原文第二段直接给了这个数：「美国老店的销售额下跌 0.2%」。8.4% 是汉堡王的涨幅；2.6% 是全美快餐客流的跌幅，不是麦当劳的销售；「完全没变」与 0.2% 的下跌矛盾。
Sales at older US restaurants fell 0.2 per cent. Only B matches the text. 8.4 per cent belongs to Burger King, and 2.6 per cent is the fall in visits across the industry.
Q2Which chain did best in the US last quarter?
正确答案：D
原文说汉堡王美国销售涨了 8.4%，是六大连锁里最好的；麦当劳排第四。塔可钟跌 4%，Wingstop 跌 5.4%，都在下滑。
Burger King’s US sales rose 8.4 per cent. That was the best of six big chains. D is the only chain that grew fastest. Taco Bell and Wingstop both fell, and McDonald’s came fourth.
Q3What is the “average check”?
正确答案：A
原文说客单价就是「每个人花了多少」。第二项是来客数（guest count）；第三项是成本；第四项是利润（profit）——四个词在这篇里都出现了，别混。
The company calls this the average check. A is the definition given in the text. B is the guest count, C is a cost, and D is profit.
财经外刊精读 · 互动版 · 2026-11-06 · 由 WorkBuddy 自动生成 · 仅供个人英语精读学习使用，版权归原作者与出版方所有
Adapted for A2 readers from McDonald’s third-quarter 2026 results and wire coverage, 4 November 2026. 取材与依据：McDonald’s third-quarter 2026 results (4 Nov 2026), reported by the Associated Press and Reuters。正文按精读节奏切分为 15 段（含标题），本期为 A2 改写稿：事实、数字与引语含义均取自原报道，句子按 A2 规格重写，未使用直接引语。
转载源与交叉核对：McDonald’s 2026 年第三季度业绩公告（2026-11-04：美国同店销售 −0.2%、来客数为负而客单价为正、调整后每股收益 3.57 美元对市场预期 3.38 美元、股息上调 4% 至 1.93 美元）；Associated Press / Reuters 当日报道（股价涨约 5%、四月起的 3 美元以下商品与 4 美元早餐、二季度「优惠带来的额外客流少于预期」）；StockTitan 汇总的六大连锁同店销售（Burger King +8.4%、Starbucks +7.7%、Domino’s +0.3%、McDonald’s −0.2%、Taco Bell −4.0%、Wingstop −5.4%，季度截至 2026 年 9 月）；Revenue Management Solutions 的全美快餐客流 −2.6%。配图：Unsplash 无版权图库素材（非新闻原图），图表按公开披露自绘；本材料不构成任何投资建议。
← 全部精读