08:53 AM EDT, 03/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Krispy Kreme (DNUT) stock climbed early Tuesday after agreeing to supply its doughnuts to McDonald's (MCD) restaurants across the US, as part of an expanded partnership agreement with the fast food giant.

The retail chain will begin providing three of its products at participating McDonald's branches, under a phased rollout in the second half of this year, the companies said in a joint statement. They're targeting nationwide availability of the doughnuts by the end of 2026.

The financial terms of the agreement weren't disclosed. The companies plan to reveal more details about the nationwide rollout in the coming months. Shares of Krispy Kreme jumped 21% in premarket trading, while McDonald's edged up 0.2%.

"By making Kreme Krispy accessible to fans nationwide through this partnership, we expect to more than double our points of access by the end of 2026," Krispy Kreme Chief Executive Josh Charlesworth said in a statement. "The partnership accelerates the development of our existing delivered fresh daily channel, creating operating leverage through distribution density and production utilization."

Krispy Kreme operates a hub and spoke model, under which its bakery locations are the hubs and the places it delivers its products to are the spokes. In February, the company reported that sales per hub in the US for the fourth quarter rose 8.9% on a trailing 12-month basis to $4.9 million, while international sales per hub edged down 1% to $10 million. Global points of access, where doughnuts and cookies can be purchased, climbed about 20% to 14,147, it said at the time.

McDonald's started selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts in nine restaurants as part of a test drive in 2022. The initiative later expanded to 160 restaurants across Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, with consumer demand exceeding expectations, according to the companies.

During a Feb. 13 conference call with analysts to discuss fourth-quarter results, Charlesworth said the company's relationship with McDonald's remained "strong" and discussions were ongoing about further expansion. "Regarding quick service restaurants in the US, our focus does continue to be on McDonald's," Charlesworth said at the time.

The partnership offers McDonald's a chance to "unlock new business opportunities in the breakfast category," said Tariq Hassan, the hamburger giant's chief marketing and customer experience officer for the US. In December, McDonald's unveiled long-term plans to increase its global restaurant count to 50,000 by the end of 2027.

Price: 14.85, Change: +2.4, Percent Change: +19.27