McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), a fast food company yesterday reported positive fourth quarter and full year financial results. MCD reported that fourth quarter global comparable sales increased 5%, above analyst expectations of 3.2%. Full year global comparable sales increased 1.5%. MCD reported fourth quarter diluted earnings per share of $1.31 an increase of 16%. Full year diluted earnings per share was $4.80 which was flat compared to last year. The positive fourth quarter results can be contributed to the recent launch of all day breakfasts which started in October and was well received in the U.S.
McDonald’s Corporation CEO’s Comments
“We took bold, urgent action in 2015 to reset the business and position McDonald’s to deliver sustained profitable growth,” said McDonald’s President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook. “We ended the year with momentum, including positive comparable sales across all segments for both the quarter and the year – a testament to the swift changes we made and the early impact of our turnaround efforts. We enter 2016 committed to managing the business for the long term and aligned as a System around the critical imperative that we must run great restaurants each and every day for our valued customers.” Easterbrook concluded, “We are demonstrating that our turnaround plan is key to restarting growth and becoming a modern and progressive burger company. I am inspired by the dedication and collective determination of our U.S., International Lead, High Growth and Foundational markets to leverage our competitive strengths as they pursue their growth opportunities. As we enter 2016, we expect continued positive top-line momentum across all segments.” PR Newswire
MCD Technical Analysis
MCD gapped up in price yesterday to $121.85, up from the prior day’s close of $118.40, which is a 3% increase in price. Taking a look at the daily chart, we can see that we are in unchartered territory as MCD is trading at all time highs. Taking a closer look at the daily chart we can see that MCD has been rallying since August 25th when it traded at $91.21. MCD has gapped right through its previous 52 week high of $120.23 reached on December 29th. MCD has a float of 917.79 million shares and is trading 1.5 times the normal daily trading volume. MCD did reach pre market highs of $123.72, but gave back $1.87 at the open, or equivalent to 2%. For trading purposes, my entry point would have been $122 looking for a pop through the whole number. My stop loss would have been $121.80, fearing anything below that and the stock would start to fill in the gap up.
Company Profile
McDonald’s Corporation operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants in the United States, Europe, the Asia/Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, and Latin America. The company’s restaurants offer various food products, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2014, it operated 36,258 restaurants, including 29,544 franchised restaurants comprising 20,774 franchised to conventional franchisees, 5,228 licensed to developmental licensees, and 3,542 licensed to foreign affiliates; and 6,714 company-operated restaurants. The company was founded in 1940 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois. Yahoo Finance
