McDonald’s improving global sales help to offset US weakness in fourth quarter

Improving international sales helped McDonald’s overcome some weakness at home in the fourth quarter.

McDonald’s same-store sales in the U.S., or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 1.4% in the October-December period after an E. coli outbreak tied to its Quarter Pounder hamburgers dented demand, the company said Monday.

But same-store sales in its licensed markets overseas climbed 4.1%. McDonald’s had strong sales growth in the Middle East, where sales have struggled in recent years, and Japan.

Overall, McDonald’s global same-store sales rose less than 1% for the fourth quarter. That was better than the 1.1% decline Wall Street had forecast, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Fourth-quarter revenue fell slightly to $6.38 billion. That was short of the $6.45 billion analysts were expecting.

The company’s fourth-quarter net income also fell, 1% to $2.01 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, McDonald’s earned $2.83 per share, which was lower than the $2.85 per share than Wall Street anticipated.

McDonald’s shares rose more than 1% in premarket trading Monday.

McDonald’s U.S. sales slowed in the first half of 2024 as customers grew tired of price increases. The company responded in June with a $5 value meal that reignited traffic. The deal was so successful that the company extended it to December.

But then an E. coli outbreak, which was first reported Oct. 22, sickened at least 104 people in 14 states, including 34 who were hospitalized, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. One person in Colorado died.

The FDA, which conducted the investigation along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments, linked the outbreak to raw yellow onions distributed by California-based Taylor Farms. The FDA closed its investigation into the outbreak in early December, saying it didn’t continue to be a risk because McDonald’s was no longer serving the recalled onions.