CHICAGO _ McDonald's said Monday its fourth-quarter earnings slipped and a key sales metric fell in the U.S., as the world's largest burger chain wasn't able to draw more customers into its restaurants and sales gains from all-day breakfast slowed.
The company, headquartered in suburban Chicago, earned $1.19 billion, or $1.44 per share, compared with $1.21 billion, or $1.31 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2015. The reason earnings fell but earnings per share rose is the company had fewer shares outstanding in the most recent quarter.
Revenue fell 5 percent to $6.03 billion, due to costs related to McDonald's ongoing effort to refranchise thousands of restaurants, or sell corporate restaurants to franchisees, which reduces the company's costs and liability.
Same-store sales, or sales at restaurants open at least 13 months, fell by 1.3 percent, which the company blamed on the comparison against the year-ago quarter, which had been boosted by the launch of all-day breakfast. As a result, McDonald's said it will focus this year on increasing customer traffic _ something that hasn't improved significantly throughout the chain's two-year-long effort to transform itself, despite new promotions and largely better sales.
McDonald's also faced a tough comparison to the launch of all-day breakfast, which began nationwide in fall 2015.
Across the globe, McDonald's same-store sales fared better. They rose 2.7 percent in the quarter. Same-store sales are a key gauge of a restaurant company's health because they strip out the benefit of newly opened stores.
McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a news release that the company is "mindful" of the tough road ahead in the first quarter of this year because of the comparison to last year's first quarter, which benefited from good weather, an extra day due to leap year and strong sales from all-day breakfast.
