Restaurant leaders focus on value as they aim to win back customers.

Restaurant CEOs have become obsessed with the word “value” when explaining to investors why their sales lagged this quarter while sharing plans to revive traffic in the coming months.

on McDonald's On a quarterly conference call last month, executives said the word “value” nearly 80 times, underscoring the fast-food giant’s top priority.

McDonald's is not alone. There are other leaders in restaurant companies from the owner of Taco Bell Yum Brands For the pizza chain Papa John's They have also used this word dozens of times in their recent conference calls.

“The word ‘value’ has gotten a lot of attention in the last few months,” said Josh Kobza, CEO of Burger King, the parent company. Global Restaurant BrandsHe said on Thursday:

There’s a reason for this focus. The cost of eating out has risen 27.2% since June 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a result, restaurant traffic has declined and sales have fallen as consumers spend less money eating out, no longer convinced that it’s a good deal.

Many chains are hoping to win back customers with discounts and promotions, such as the $5 meal deals offered by McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell.

“In this current economic cycle, consumers are becoming more intentional about managing their total ticket and are showing a preference for brands that offer compelling value,” Papa John’s CFO Ravi Thanawala said on a company call Thursday.

Many restaurant managers admitted that their chains were struggling with a lack of resources.

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski, for example, said his company’s reputation for value had taken a hit recently. In the second quarter, the burger giant reported that its same-store sales in the U.S. fell 0.7% year over year.

“There were also factors within our control that contributed to our underperformance, most notably value execution,” Kempczinski said in a company conference call on July 29. “For 70 years, McDonald’s has defined value in our industry, and we are taking meaningful actions around the world to reaffirm our leadership.”

McDonald’s launched its $5 meal deal just days before the end of the second quarter, but the value-priced meal has been attracting lower-income consumers and outperforming expectations, according to executives. The chain is extending the promotion through August in most markets and is working with franchisees on a longer-term discount strategy.

Meanwhile, unlike McDonald's and many other restaurants, Chipotle Mexican Restaurant Crypto reported strong same-store sales growth and increased footfall in the latest quarter. But the burrito chain remains focused on value, facing backlash from some customers who claim the company has been cutting portion sizes.

While CEO Brian Niccol denied the company was planning to shrink its burrito bowls, he said the chain would reaffirm its commitment to serving generous portions to its workers. After all, those large portions have helped Chipotle build its reputation for value.

“The good news is that we’re already starting to see our actions reflected positively in our consumer scores, and our value proposition remains very strong,” Nicole said in a company conference call on July 24.

Fast food restaurant managers don't just focus on value.

Dine BrandsAmazon Web Services, which owns Applebee's and IHOP, is also seeing a decline in spending by lower-income consumers, CEO John Peyton told CNBC.

Customers with annual incomes of less than $75,000 aren’t visiting Dine as often as they used to, and if they do, they’re sticking to the value menu. Applebee’s and IHOP both reported surprise same-store sales declines this quarter.

“The last half of the year will certainly be tough, a fight for market share for our increasingly value-driven customers,” said Peyton.

Companies are not just thinking about delivering value to customers, they’re also thinking about shareholder value. Restaurant stocks have been under pressure this year as investors grow increasingly concerned about the health of the industry. McDonald’s and Restaurant Brands are down 10% year to date, while McDonald’s and Restaurant Brands are down 10%. StarbucksThe stock is down 21%. Standard & Poor's 500 It increased by 11% during that period.

Concerns about the financial health of chains are not limited to revenue. They also relate to profits, especially with companies’ penchant for discounting. While cheap deals may attract customers, they can hurt restaurants’ profitability, weigh on profits and harm the financial health of franchisees.

So-called value wars — where chains try to outdo each other with deals — are intensifying these concerns as investors fear a race to the bottom.

While that interest has yet to pay off, it’s too early to tell. For now, it seems that the value and discount conversations have succeeded in bringing some customers back to the company’s stores.

Burger King, for example, was one of the first chains to unveil a $5 meal this summer. Its U.S. same-store sales were roughly flat during the quarter, but executives said the deal was attracting customers. Burger King now plans to offer it through October.

When its competitors followed suit with their own $5 off offer, the restaurant chain saw no apparent impact on its business.

“There are actually some positives to focusing on value across the industry,” Restaurant Brands’ Kobza told CNBC. “I think it has the potential to improve the perception of value for money in this segment with our guests as more people talk about the amazing value that our segment offers. I think that really helps everyone.”