McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) released its first-quarter results on Monday as the fast-food chain saw customers dine out on bigger ticket items. Higher-priced gourmet burgers helped push the company’s sales up and increased its average transaction size.
In recent years the company has gone under a lot of changes, including adding more premium menu options and mobile ordering as well as touch screens in-store to make it easier for customers to place orders without the need of a cashier.
The results seem to speak for themselves as McDonald’s posted adjusted per-share earnings of $1.79 in Q1 and came in above estimates of $1.67. Globally, same-store sales were up 5.5% compared to just 3.7%, which was expected by analysts. McDonald’s noted impressive growth in its International Lead segment of 7.8%, which was mainly a result of strong performances in Germany and the U.K., two very mature and established markets.
The company’s performance is especially impressive given the growing trend toward healthier dining options and underscores just how stable and adaptable McDonald’s is to changing times.
Year-to-date the stock has been down although Monday’s news gave the stock a boost with the share price rising more than 5% by the end of the day. Over the past five years, McDonald’s has seen its share price grow by more than 65% as it continues to be a great long-term investment, providing investors with terrific returns.
The stock currently pays investors a stable dividend of around 2.5% and it gives you another way to grow your portfolio just by owning a piece of McDonald’s.
