McDonald’s Reports Reduced Visits in Quarter, Expects Weak January

McDonald’s Reports Reduced Visits in Quarter, Expects Weak January (Reuters)

McDonald’s Corp (MCD.NYSE) reported weaker-than-expected quarterly sales at established restaurants on Thursday as fewer diners visited the fast-food chain. The company also warned that sales would fall short of analysts’ expectations again in January. The world’s biggest restaurant chain by revenue has reported subpar sales for five straight quarters. The causes include self-inflicted operational stumbles, weak demand and intensified competition from resurgent rivals such as Wendy’s Co (WEN) and Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW). Chief Executive Don Thompson’s efforts to lift earnings in the 18 months since he took the company’s helm — by tweaking menus and shaking up management — have not borne fruit. The pressure also is on him to boost McDonald’s share price. The stock is up just 7 percent since Thompson became chief executive on July 1, 2012, well behind the 27-percent jump in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, which includes McDonald’s as a component.

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Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.