Companies and Brands

The Death of Growth at McDonald's

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) released its latest data on same-store sales growth. As the title of this post suggests, McDonald’s has run into a growth problem. We cannot figure out how it can maintain any future growth at this rate, compared to the past decade.

October global same-store sales increased by a mere 0.5%, versus a gain of only about 0.1% expected by the analysts who project this figure. Same-store sales growth of 0.2% in the United States was slightly under projections.

Europe was a slight positive at a gain of 0.8% on the region’s same-store sales. This figure was driven by gains in France, the United Kingdom and Russia, with a slight drag in Germany. We saw that October’s APMEA (Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa) comparable sales were down by 2.8%.

One issue to consider is an extra day shift, and then there were also promotions of the Mighty Wings, a new wrap and the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

What we have a hard time with is that McDonald’s shares are still trading around $97, in a 52-week range of $83.31 to $103.70. The consensus price target is just over $104 for the next year. The growth rates are just not there for the time being, and we are not sure how McDonald’s will entice and reward investors in the next two years like it did from 2010 to 2012.

It’s Your Money, Your Future—Own It (sponsor)

Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? For families with more than $500,000 saved for retirement, finding a financial advisor who puts your interest first can be the difference, and today it’s easier than ever. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three fiduciary financial advisors who serve your area in minutes. Each advisor has been carefully vetted and must act in your best interests. Start your search now.

If you’ve saved and built a substantial nest egg for you and your family, don’t delay; get started right here and help your retirement dreams become a retirement reality.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.