McDonald's Same-Store Sales Soft in U.S., but Still Strong Globally

By Joshua Jamerson 

McDonald's Corp. posted better-than-expected global same-store sales in the latest quarter, but its results in the U.S. declined as enthusiasm for its all-day breakfast options leveled off.

For the quarter that ended in December, the burger chain's global comparable sales increased 2.7%, well above the 1.4% increase anticipated by analysts in a Consensus Metrix survey.

In the U.S., comparable sales fell 1.3%; the company blamed a challenging comparison to the prior-year launch of its all-day breakfast service. The report Monday comes as investors are hungry for menu news, since McDonald's hasn't come out with any blockbuster products in a while.

For the first three months of the year, Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook said the company will again face a difficult comparison to the prior-year quarter, which he said benefited from a leap year, good weather and momentum from all-day breakfast in the U.S.

Over all, McDonald's reported net income of $1.19 billion, compared with $1.21 billion in the year-ago quarter. On a per-share basis, earnings rose to $1.44 from $1.31, thanks to a lower outstanding share count.

Revenue fell 5% to $6.03 billion, which the company said was due to refranchising. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected $1.41 a share on $5.99 billion in revenue.

Shares fell 0.5% to $121.19 in premarket trading.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2017 08:49 ET (13:49 GMT)

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