Global gains lift MCD

Article Excerpt

MCDONALD’S CORP. $177 (New York symbol MCD; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector, Shares outstanding: 775.8 million; Market cap: $137.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.4; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mcdonalds.com) operates over 37,500 fast-food restaurants in 120 countries. In the quarter ended September 30, 2018, the company’s revenue fell 6.7%, to $5.37 billion from $5.75 billion a year earlier. That’s mainly because it continues to sell company-owned stores to franchisees; they now own and operate roughly 95% of its restaurants. However, comparable store sales improved 4.2%. Most of that gain came from McDonald’s overseas operations: same-store sales at its International Lead markets (including the U.K., France and Australia) gained 5.4%; High Growth markets (including the Netherlands, Italy and China) rose 4.6%; and Foundational markets (including Japan) improved 6.0%. U.S. operations (36% of total sales) saw comparable sales rise 2.4% thanks to higher selling prices. Upgrades to restaurants, including modern seating areas, digital self-order kiosks and table service, have also spurred customer traffic. Overall earnings in…