McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) posted fourth-quarter revenue ahead of Wall Street forecasts, supported by robust comparable sales growth across its global footprint as the chain leaned into promotions and value menus to attract price-sensitive consumers.
Shares of the fast-food group edged slightly lower in premarket trading on Thursday, despite the stronger-than-expected top-line performance.
Revenue for the quarter came in at $7.01 billion, topping the $6.81 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted earnings per share were $3.03, in line with analyst projections. Global comparable sales rose 5.7%, comfortably above the 3.7% increase anticipated by analysts.
In the U.S., comparable sales climbed 6.8%, reversing a 1.4% decline recorded in the same period last year. The company said the improvement was driven by “positive check and guest count growth primarily from successful marketing promotions.”
“McDonald’s value leadership is working,” said Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski. “By listening to customers and taking action, we have improved traffic […]. That focus helped increase global systemwide sales by 8% and delivered strong comp sales growth across all segments this quarter.”
International markets also contributed to the upside. International Operated Markets advanced 5.2%, led by solid performances in the U.K., Germany and Australia. International Developmental Licensed Markets grew 4.5%, with Japan standing out.
For the full year, McDonald’s reported global systemwide sales growth of 7%, surpassing $139 billion. The company’s loyalty program continued to expand, with sales to loyalty members rising 20% to nearly $37 billion. Active 90-day loyalty users increased 19% to nearly 210 million by year-end.
“U.S. value efforts are resonating — with McDonald’s lower-income customer market share and affordability scores both improving in the fourth quarter,” analysts at Gordon Haskett Research Advisors wrote in a note.
McDonald’s also said it will raise its quarterly cash dividend by 5% to $1.86 per share.