McDonald's.
McDonald's.
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  • McDonald’s global comparable sales in the fourth quarter were down just 1.3% year-on-year, driven by strong US sales.
  • It brought in quarterly revenues of $5.31 billion, compared to the $5.37 billion analysts had expected.
  • Its net income for 2020 plummeted 21% year-on-year.
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McDonald’s earnings in the final three months of 2020 were its strongest for any quarter, which has helped prop up its annual sales during a year of government-mandated restaurant closures.

Its global comparable sales in the quarter to December 31 were down just 1.3% year-on-year, it said on Thursday. 

But McDonald’s still failed to meet Wall Street targets, as sales growth in the US – 5.5% in the quarter – couldn’t make up for falls in the fast food giant’s international markets.

Read more: The inside story of McDonald’s Travis Scott collaboration, as the fast-food giant digs into its ‘marketing war chest’ and franchisees protest the partnership

Comparable sales were negative in most of its international operated markets because of government-mandated restaurant closures and limits to their opening hours, McDonald’s said. The comparable sales decline in the fourth quarter was primarily driven by France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, it said, though comparable sales were positive for Australia and the UK.

The company credited its strong US comparable sales results to marketing and promotions. In September the fast-food giant launched a Travis Scott Meal, featuring the rapper's go-to McDonald's order, and the deal was so popular the chain started running out of burgers.

McDonald's full-year global comparable sales dropped 7.7% from 2019. Sales grew 0.4% in the US.

The company recorded $5.31 billion in total revenues in the fourth quarter, compared to the $5.37 billion expected by Wall Street analysts, per Refinitiv. It also posted a 12% fall in quarterly net income to $1.38 billion.

Its total revenues for 2020, meanwhile, fell 10% to $19.21 billion, and its net income plummeted 21% to $4.73 billion.

"2020 will be remembered as one of McDonald's most challenging, yet inspiring, moments in our long history," its CEO Chris Kempczinski said.

McDonald's recorded negative comparable sales in some of its international developmental licensed markets in the fourth quarter, in particular in Asia and Latin America, though these were partly offset by strong comparable sales in Japan.

 

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