McDonald's Q4 revenue exceeds expectations, with global sales up 5.7%

Investing.com - McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) reported fourth-quarter revenue that exceeded analyst expectations, driven by strong comparable sales growth across all regions. The fast-food giant’s stock slightly declined, falling 1% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $7.01 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion, while adjusted earnings per share were $3.03, in line with analyst expectations. Global comparable sales increased by 5.7% this quarter, significantly exceeding the average analyst forecast of 3.7%.

U.S. comparable sales grew by 6.8%, reversing a 1.4% decline in the same quarter last year. The company attributed this growth to “positive customer spend and traffic increases primarily driven by successful marketing campaigns.”

“McDonald’s value leadership is making a difference,” said Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski. “By listening to customer needs and taking action, we improved traffic and strengthened our value and affordability scores. This focus helped drive an 8% increase in global systemwide sales and strong comparable sales growth across all regions this quarter.”

International markets also performed well, with international operating markets growing 5.2%, with strong performances in the UK, Germany, and Australia. International developmental licensed markets grew by 4.5%, led by Japan.

For the full year, McDonald’s reported global systemwide sales growth of 7%, exceeding $139 billion. The company’s loyalty program continued to gain traction, with systemwide sales from loyal members increasing 20% to nearly $37 billion, and active loyalty users over the past 90 days growing 19% to nearly 210 million by year-end.

The company also announced a 5% increase in quarterly cash dividends to $1.86 per share.

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