The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement has made itself known as the global campaign that advocates for ending international political and economic support for Israel. Their main goal is to pressure Israel to comply with international law.
BDS was inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement and calls for boycotting any products tied to Israel, divesting from companies who are in support of Israel and sanctioning Israel until they abide by international law. The movement started gaining momentum after the conflicts in the Middle East and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and has since then increased its interest in multinational companies with ties to Israel such as McDonald’s and Starbucks.
McDonald’s is a global corporation, but its franchises are owned locally and operated independently. In Israel, Alonyal Limited owns and operates the McDonald’s restaurants. The fast food chain has faced boycotts following Alonyal Limited’s announcement that McDonald’s would provide free meals to the Israeli military following the October 7 attack. As a result, McDonald’s has been added to the BDS boycott list. Due to the protests, McDonald’s has decided to buy back the 225 McDonald’s in Israel, ending a 30-year long franchise.
Similarly, Starbucks is facing global boycott calls following the company’s response to a tweet by Starbucks Workers United expressing their support for Palestine. The Company went out to condemn these statements and subsequently sued the union.
McDonald’s and Starbucks have both seen declines in their international sales. Over the past year, McDonald’s and Starbucks have reported increases and decreases in global revenue. McDonald’s reported in their Third Quarter 2024 Results that the global comparable sales decreased by 1.5%, marking this the company’s most substantial contraction since the pandemic in 2020, which showed a 1% decrease. The company points out that there were varying sales trends across the international markets. As of September 30, 2024 the International Operated Market segment reported a 2.1% decrease, whereas in 2023 it increased by 8.3%.
The company also reported that in 2023, prior to the Middle East conflict, system wide sales increased by 11%. In the following year, system wide sales were flat and sales did not uniformly rise across all regions, specifically in Middle Eastern and European markets.
In 2023, Starbucks reported an 8% increase in global comparable sales, but a 7% decline in 2024. The company reported a 39% increase in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) earnings per share, which measures how much profit each share of the company’s stock made, in 2023 prior to the Middle East conflict. In 2024, they reported a 25% decline in GAAP. Starbucks has faced flat revenues from European and Middle Eastern markets, where prominent BDS boycotts play a role in consumer behavior.
This shift in public perception of these companies is influenced by social media campaigns encouraging boycotts of both McDonald’s and Starbucks. The main target of these campaigns being younger consumers advocating for international social justice issues, who call for these companies to take accountability in their business practices.
