What to Watch When McDonald’s Reports Thursday Morning

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 11, 8:25PM EST · Published Jul 25, 1:40PM EDT

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What to Watch When McDonald’s Reports Thursday Morning — © Tupungato / Shutterstock.com

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is scheduled to release its second-quarter earnings report before the markets open on Thursday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $1.92 in earnings per share (EPS) and $5.32 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $1.70 in EPS and $6.05 billion in revenue.

This company does a ton of business overseas and still remains a solid pick for investors seeking dividends and a degree of safety. The fast-food giant is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer, with over 36,000 locations serving approximately 69 million customers in over 100 countries each day. More than 80% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business persons.

McDonald’s posted solid first-quarter results and shares took off, as menu price increases fueled the big earnings beat. Same-store sales in the United States grew 2.9%, in line with analyst expectations. Global same-store sales were also strong, rising 5.5% and topping estimates of 3.7%, as the number of customers coming through the door rose 0.8%.

Overall, McDonald’s stock has underperformed the broad markets, with shares down about 8% year to date. In the past 52 weeks, the stock is up only 4%.

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A few analysts weighed in on McDonald’s prior to the release of the earnings report:

Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating and a $178 price target.
Stifel has a Neutral rating with a $168 price target.
Jefferies has a Buy rating with a $200 target price.
Cleveland Research has a Hold rating.
Wells Fargo has an Outperform rating with a $180 target.
Citigroup has a Neutral rating and a $178 price target.
Nomura has a Buy rating with a $191 price target.

Shares of McDonald’s were last seen trading at $157.75, with a consensus analyst price target of $186.15 and a 52-week range of $146.84 to $178.70.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.