Filed under: International markets, Earnings reports, Rumors, Products and services, Competitive strategy, McDonald’s (MCD), Recession
Shares of fast food giant McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) traded in the red all day in the wake of disappointing U.S. sales figures for its fourth quarter. The company reported its fourth quarter numbers this morning, and despite beating analyst estimates for its earnings, the stock has been selling off all day.
Going into this mornings earnings announcement, analysts had been anticipating to see the company show earnings of 71 cents per share, and the company actually boasted earnings of 73 cents, but earnings were overshadowed by the fact that the company had flat same stores sales growth during December, raising concerns of the impact of slowing U.S. economy.
While December’s same store sales have sparked investor concerns, the company is estimating that January’s same store sales in its U.S. stores will grow by about 1.5%. European same store sales are estimated to grow at least 8%.
In an attempt to fend off worries about 2008, McDonald’s tried to calm investors by stating that the main reason for the weak December sales figures was uncommon cold weather across the nation during the month, but Wall Street does not seem to be buying it. Shares shut the day down 5.6% to $51.07, down $3.03.
Wall Street will continue to worry about the company’s outlook at least until we see the final number for January same store sales. Until then, we’ll still have to question whether December numbers were a result of wintry weather, or if we’re seeing signs of deeper troubles for the fast food giant.
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor’s Observer
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