Shares in McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) were little changed in premarket Wednesday after it reported fourth-quarter earnings slightly ahead of analysts' expectations on a strong finish to the year.
The company, which has radically rebuilt itself in the last couple of years under pressure from changing consumer tastes, booked a rising number of guests for the second straight year as global comparable sales rose 4.4% in the fourth quarter. That was a modest acceleration from 4.2% in the third quarter. It was the first time it had posted two straight years of customer growth since 2012, chief executive Steve Easterbrook said in a press release.
Notably, consolidated earnings adjusted for foreign exchange effects were flat year-on-year, after being down 5% in the three months to September.
The firm reported earnings per share of $1.97 on revenue of $5.16 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com forecast EPS of $1.89 on revenue of $5.17 billion. That compared to EPS of $1.71 on revenue of $5.34 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company had reported EPS of $2.05 on revenue of $5.37 billion in the previous quarter.
McDonald’s shares edged 0.07% higher to trade at $180.22 in pre-market trade following the report.
On Wednesday, AT&T reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.86 on revenue of $47.99 billion, compared to forecasts of EPS of $0.86 on revenue of $48.5 billion.
Verizon earnings beat analyst's expectations on Tuesday, with fourth quarter EPS of $1.12 on revenue of $34.28 billion. Investing.com analysts expected EPS of $1.09 on revenue of $34.45 billion.
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