All-Day Egg McMuffins Could Be Saving McDonald's

Until recently, for many teenagers and college students, the witching hour wasn't 2 AM—it was 10:30 AM. As they were roused from slumber, groggy-eyed, a sense of urgency took hold: Better get to the Golden Arches before the chance to grab McDonald's breakfast is lost. Ten-thirty in the morning, oh so early, was the cruel hour when McDonald's made the switch to lunch, and Egg McMuffin dreams turned to dust.

But McDonald's recently realized the error of their ways, and on October 6 of last year, they started offering limited breakfast all-day long. The decision isn't just making customers happy—it's having an impact on McDonald's bottom line. McDonald's reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings today, with sales rising 5.7 percent at existing restaurants, much higher than the expected 2.7 percent. Company officials are saying they have all-day breakfast to thank for the boost.

"We know customers love McDonald's breakfast and they told us they'd like to enjoy it beyond the morning hours, so we responded by making breakfast available throughout the day," Becca Harry, the director of global media relations for McDonald's, told MUNCHIES. "It was the number-one most-requested item by our customers."

The all-day menu now includes Egg McMuffins; Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuits; every sort of sausage and biscuit mash-up; hotcakes; hash browns; and sausage burritos.

For a while, things weren't looking so hot at McDonald's. The Golden Arches replaced its CEO last March, sales were down, and the company's stock had dipped and stagnated. Last year, for the first time ever, McDonald's closed more stores in the US than it opened. They were having difficulty outpacing newer competitors like Chipotle, Five Guys, and Shake Shack.

McDonald's all-day breakfast was part of a turnaround plan that also involves a streamlined menu featuring new items and new initiatives being tested in select markets, like the build-your-own burger stations at select locations, a reworking the dollar menu, and the McPick 2.

McDonald's wouldn't say what items were driving breakfast sales, but sales of Egg McMuffins—always a respectable choice—are up.

"We transitioned back to the original recipe for our Egg McMuffin, using butter instead of margarine, to deliver an even tastier sandwich," said McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook last October in comments following the company's third-quarter earnings. "Customers appreciated the change and we saw a double-digit increase in the number of Egg McMuffins sold immediately following the rollout."

Though sales are up now, not everyone was thrilled when the all-day breakfast policy was announced. Franchisee owners told Bloomberg Businessweek that the policy would lead to challenges in already crowded and hectic kitchens. Eggs would take up grill space and hash browns would require fryer baskets throughout the day when most customers order burgers and fries. And not every McDonald's location offers the full breakfast menu all-day—what is served is subject to the capabilities of each individual store.

But if sales are on the rise, perhaps the formerly reluctant have changed their tone. And perhaps all-day breakfast came at an opportune time, just as competitor Chipotle was hit with an ongoing and worsening food safety scandal. McDonald's used to own 90 percent of Chipotle, and critics blasted them for selling their stake and missing out on billions of profits as Chipotle took off. They can at least feel slightly better about that decision given the recent Chipotle fiasco.

We now look at a world where future hangover victims will never know that exquisite agony of just missing out on McDonald's breakfast. Unfortunately, the Steak, Egg & Cheese Bagel, the undeniable heavyweight champion of the McDonald's breakfast menu, isn't on the all-day menu. For my unsolicited two cents, ditch the hotcakes and bring it on.