Krispy Kreme, America’s most iconic donut brand (which can’t seem to stop giving away free donuts) has seen its share price go through the roof in the past 24 hours after the company announced yesterday that it is entering into a partnership with fast-food giant McDonald’s.
The partnership will see McDonald’s selling Krispy Kreme donuts in its locations nationwide by the end of 2026. The phased rollout begins this year. It follows a successful test that began in 2022, which saw 160 McDonald’s locations in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, sell the Krispy Kreme sweets. In a press release, the companies announced that this test saw “demand exceeded expectations.”
As a result of the Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s partnership announcement, Krispy Kreme’s stock (ticker DNUT) shot through the roof yesterday. It ended the day trading up more than 39% to $17.35 per share. Krispy Kreme’s share price hasn’t seen those types of levels since December 2021. The donut chain went public in June 2021 and briefly saw its stock trade at $19.29 per share after its IPO.
As of the time of this writing, DNUT shares are up another 3.17% in premarket trading this morning. McDonald’s shares, on the other hand, remained relatively flat on the news yesterday. In premarket today, its shares are just up over a tenth of 1% at the time of this writing.
The difference in the share price movement (or lack thereof, in McDonald’s case) shows that investors feel Krispy Kreme needs McDonald’s much more than McDonald’s needs Krispy Kreme. McDonald’s says it has more than 13,500 locations in America alone, whereas Krispy Kreme says it currently has 14,000 sales points globally. If Krispy Kreme donuts do end up in all McDonald’s nationwide, the deal could nearly double Krispy Kreme’s global point-of-sale locations.
But Krispy Kreme fans should keep in mind that McDonald’s locations are not becoming donut shops where every variety of Krispy Kreme is available. The companies say their partnership will see just three types of Krispy Kreme donuts sold in McDonald’s locations, both individually and in six-packs. Those donut varieties are Krispy Kreme’s Original Glazed Doughnut, its Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles Doughnut, and its Chocolate Iced Kreme-Filled Doughnut.
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