McDonald’s served notice Monday that sales at U.S. restaurants open at least a year were flat last month as consumers tightened their wallets, heightening concerns on Wall Street even as it reported fourth-quarter profits of $1.27 billion. Its stock fell more than 5%.
The world’s largest fast-food chain cited severe winter weather as the primary reason for the weakness in U.S. comparable sales, which were more than offset by international sales gains.
But investors worried about the impact of a possible recession overlooked the impressive fourth-quarter results, which capped a strong year for McDonald’s, focused instead on slowing sales and sold McDonald’s stock heavily.
Shares in the company, already down 7% since the first evidence of a December sales slowdown surfaced two weeks ago, shed another $3.03, or 5.6%, to $51.07.
No comments yet.