McMuffin for dinner? McDonald's moves toward all-day breakfast

Aamer Madhani | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption McDonald's may begin serving all-day breakfast Just months after McDonald's began testing all-day breakfast at some of its restaurants, the fast food giant could begin offering it nationwide in October, according to a memo sent to domestic franchisees and employees, a source confirms for CNBC.

McDonald’s has told its franchisees to prepare for a nationwide rollout of the all-day breakfast menu this fall, but company executives insist they have not settled on whether it’s feasible to make the Egg McMuffin and other popular breakfast items available throughout the day.

Franchisees, which operate more than 90% of U.S. McDonald’s around the U.S., received a memo last week urging them to prepare for all-day breakfast, perhaps as early as October.

McDonald’s officials have expressed pleasure with how tests of all-day breakfast are going in a limited number of restaurants in California, Mississippi and Tennessee, but have stopped short of committing to taking the concept nationwide.

“We want to make it clear that we are not being presumptive that this will launch,” according to the memo, which was first reported on by the Wall Street Journal and National Restaurant News. “But we want to make sure the system is ready to turn quickly and launch all day breakfast should all of you believe and support that direction.”

The company reiterated that the internal memo did not mean the company had made a final decision on rolling out all-day breakfast, which will require operators to juggle limited kitchen and grill space.

“Serving all-day breakfast is likely the number one request we hear from McDonald’s customers. We’re testing it out in a few markets to learn more about this possibility,” the company said in a statement. “We know your mouth is watering, but there’s no news on this yet.”

McDonald’s is badly in need of a boost as it tries to work its way out of two-year earnings slump amidst stiffening competition from fast food upstarts and changing American tastes.

Wall Street has been lukewarm to CEO Steve Easterbrook's plan to reshape the Oak Brook, Ill.-company into a "modern, progressive burger company." The hamburger chain's sales dropped 0.3% globally in May compared with the same period last year. McDonald’s is set to release its second quarter earnings report on Thursday.

McDonald's CEO: Changes are coming, promise Steve Easterbrook outlined several steps to turn the fast-food giant around. Step 1: Better food.

McDonald's has long known there was demand for breakfast items beyond 10:30 a.m. when restaurants traditionally end breakfast sales and turn to the lunch menu. Restaurant visits by U.S. consumers have been down for lunchtime and dinnertime in recent years, but visits at breakfast are on the rise, according to the market research firm NPD.

The company, however, has long resisted expanding the availability of breakfast out of concern that restaurant operators just don't have enough grill space to do breakfast and lunch items simultaneously