McDonald's Could Reveal A New Breakfast Wars Strategy Tomorrow

McDonald's, which has dominated the breakfast market for years, faces more competition than ever before.

Taco Bell started offering a breakfast menu in March with crowd-pleasing items such as the Waffle Taco. Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, and Burger King are also revamping their menus to entice consumers.

McDonald's will probably address how it plans to remain the top breakfast chain on an earnings conference call with analysts tomorrow, writes Julie Jargon at The Wall Street Journal.

While McDonald's has hinted that it will expand breakfast hours past 10:30, no official announcement has been made. Taco Bell's breakfast goes to 11 a.m.

And earlier this month, McDonald's gave out free McCafe coffee. That promotion ended April 13.

About 25% of McDonald's total sales come from breakfast, Jargon writes.

The category is thriving even as overall fast food sales decline.

U.S. restaurant traffic during the breakfast hours increased 3% in 2013 compared to the prior year, according to a study by NPD group. Yet traffic declined by 1% during the lunch and dinner hours.

There's a simple reason why fast food breakfast is so popular, NPD analyst Bonnie Riggs told QSR Magazine in March.

"It's the cheapest meal you can get at a restaurant outside of a snack," Riggs said.