Well, that says at most Skinner has tried those things in order to become independent (inelastic) of the 'economy' (whatever that means). There's no analysis t

Well, that says at most Skinner has tried those things in order to become independent (inelastic) of the 'economy' (whatever that means). There's no analysis to back that up. The last line of the paragraph you quoted is Last year average per-store sales jumped to $2.4 million, from $1.6 million in 2004. That just says McDonald's is doing relatively well - nothing about why. This could simply reflect McDonald's recent strategy of improving existing locations rather than expanding. The average could also be raised by closing less profitable stores though I haven't been able to find any data on the number, location, and profitability of McDonald's restaurants over time.