NEW YORK (AP) -- McDonald's Corp. says it will launch mobile order-and-pay and curbside pickup across its U.S. restaurants toward the end of the year.
The world's biggest burger chain made the announcement during its investor day in Chicago, where it outlined how it is working to turn around its business and reverse years of declining guest counts in the United States. It had previously said the option would launch sometime this year but hadn't been more specific.
Since 2012, McDonald's said it has lost 500 million customer transactions, and partly blamed its lack of strong value offerings.
Trading of the company's stock had been halted earlier Wednesday as the company prepared to share its growth plans and "nonpublic information." For 2019 and beyond, McDonald's said it expects to expand its operating margin from the high-20 percent range to the mid-40 percent range, as it sells more of its restaurants to franchisees and relies more heavily on royalty fees.
By the end of this year, the company expects 93 percent of its restaurants to be franchised.
Share in McDonald's gained $1.33, or about 1 percent, to $128.98, after they resumed trading.
McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook, who took over in March 2015, has said the company will move more quickly to adapt to changing customer habits and tastes. Easterbrook has overseen the rollout of the company's all-day breakfast menu in the U.S that gained widespread attention, but was not popular enough to boost overall customer traffic.
In the U.S., the company has also said it is rolling out its "experience of the future" restaurants that feature ordering kiosks and table service. The company is also trying to improve the image of its food and boost sales of coffee and pastries that tap into the snacking trend.