Equities

Walmart and McDonald's insist AI doesn't decide what you pay

Walmart's CEO says it won't charge shoppers more based on who they are. McDonald's says franchisees, not AI, set menu prices, while it fights a federal lawsuit over its pricing tool.

By Marcus Rodriguez · Oct 26, 2026, 8:15 AM EDT

Why it matters: Walmart and McDonald's are on record denying AI-driven personal pricing, and McDonald's faces a federal lawsuit over its pricing tool.

For information only, not investment advice. Prices delayed.

Tickers: WMT

Shoppers' suspicion that retailers use AI to charge some people more is the subject of a Wall Street Journal report published Sunday. Walmart ($WMT) and McDonald's had already put their denials in writing.

"We price the product, not the person," Walmart CEO John Furner wrote in a Sept. 25 letter to customers, adding that using someone's "income, shopping history or moment of need to charge them more" would break the company's pricing promise. In an Oct. 5 letter to a critic it addressed only as "Ms. Owens," Walmart said its digital shelf labels "do not identify customers, nor do they independently set prices," and that "We do not use AI to upcharge our customers."

McDonald's said on Oct. 1 that "AI does not set the price of a Big Mac or any other menu item" and that franchisees set their own menu prices. It is also facing a federal lawsuit, filed Oct. 2 in Chicago, that alleges its pricing tool amounts to "algorithmic price-fixing," the Guardian reported. A McDonald's spokesperson told the Guardian the "complaint is filled with inaccuracies." The Guardian also cited a Reuters investigation that reported some franchise owners were pressured to use the AI tools; McDonald's called that reporting "speculative and uninformed."

The lawsuit's claims are allegations, not findings. Walmart shares closed at $119.89, down 1.02%, and McDonald's at $248.46, down 1.65%, as of Oct. 23, 4:00 PM ET. No source ties those moves to the pricing debate.

Tags: ai · retail-consumer · antitrust