OAK BROOK, ILL. — All-day breakfast remains a boon for McDonald’s Corp. in the United States, where comparable sales rose 5.4% in the recent quarter.
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| Steve Easterbrook, president and c.e.o. of McDonald’s |
“Whilst we’re no longer in the launch phase, this platform remains a significant contributor to top-line results, and we’re already looking at ways to extend it in the future in response to customers’ feedback,” Steve Easterbrook, president and chief executive officer of McDonald’s, said during an April 22 earnings call with financial analysts.
McDonald’s net income for the first quarter ended March 31 was $1,098.6 million, equal to $1.23 per share on the common stock, up 35% from $811.5 million, or 84c per share, for the prior-year period. Total revenues were $5,903.9 million, down 1% from $5,958.9 million. Excluding foreign currency exchange, revenues increased 3%.
Global comparable sales increased 6.2% for the quarter, reflecting broad-based momentum across all business segments. In addition to all-day breakfast, McDonald’s new McPick 2 value platform contributed to growth in the quarter.
“The McPick 2 platform provides customers with more choices at compelling price points and it gives us added flexibility at both national and local levels,” Mr. Easterbrook said. “We tested two versions of the platform in the first quarter: McPick 2 for $2 in January, and McPick 2 for 2 for $5 in March. The offerings were designed to target different customers, and both resonated well.”
After experimenting with various value platforms over the past two years, the company is confident in its latest proposition, said Kevin Ozan, chief financial officer.
“We believe through the McPick 2 platform as a whole, we have the flexibility at both national and local level such that we can offer compelling value at different points, different times a year, and maybe slightly different offers in different parts of the country, depending on the consumer set,” Mr. Ozan said. “But we believe that could be a platform that continues to offer growth opportunity and drive customers in.”
Beyond all-day breakfast and McPick 2, McDonald’s is pursuing additional opportunities to fuel momentum in the U.S. market.
“This includes further enhancements of our core menu items to improve quality perceptions of our food, sustaining our heightened focus on operations, especially in our drive-thrus, to improve accuracy and speed of service; and additional opportunity to simplify our menu and the overall restaurant experience for our customers and crew,” Mr. Easterbrook said. “Customers in the U.S. are noticing a difference. We experienced a 6% improvement in our overall customer satisfaction scores compared to the first quarter of last year, and we’re gaining share relative to that Q.S.R. sandwich segment with a positive comparable sales gap of 140 basis points for the quarter.”
