McDonald’s, Inc (NYSE: MCD)
On Monday, McDonald’s surprised Wall Street with better than expected sales and profit for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2015. Traders in the pre-market rallied MCD up 4.5% to all-time highs of $123.72 before profit taking and general market weakness pulled the stock down to close the day at $119.20
For the fourth quarter McDonald’s U.S. same-store sales grew 5.7% year over year, handily beating consensus estimates of 2.7%. The company attributes much of that growth to the introduction of its all-day breakfast menu this past October. Revenue for the fourth quarter came in at $6.34 billion, a 5% increase over the prior year when currency translation is excluded. Earning per share climbed 16% from $1.13 in 2014 to $1.31 for the fourth quarter of 2105. Excluding currency translations, revenue or the full fiscal year grew 3% year over year to $25.41 billion, while earnings per share climbed $10% to $4.80. Yahoo Finance
McDonald’s CEO 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.” PR Newswire
MCD Technical Analysis
McDonald’s stock has performed significantly better than the broader markets since reporting third quarter 2015 earning last October. As of Monday’s closing price MCD is up slightly so far in 2016 versus an 8.2% decline in the S&P index, SPX. During pre-market trading on Monday, investors pushed MCD up 4.5% to a high of $123.72. The stock settled down and opened at $121.85 and slowly moved down during the day driven by broad market weakness. The stock closed the day weak at $119.20 but remained above all significant moving averages. For a possible long trade, I will watch for a bullish market and early strength that keeps MCD above pre-market highs, VWAP, and moving averages on a 5-minute chart. If MCD does open strong, I will watch price action near the whole and half-dollar levels from $119.50 to $122.50. MCD will need to show very bullish price action to remain long above that level. A bearish market and a volume break of $119.00 could quickly get MCD moving toward Friday’s low of $117.37. The 9-day and 20-day exponential moving averages also sit nearby. Support levels also tend to reside near the whole and half-dollar.
McDonald’s Company Profile
McDonald’s Corporation operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants. McDonald’s global system comprises both Company-owned and franchised restaurants. The Company manages its business as distinct geographic segments: the United States (U.S.); Europe, and Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA). The Company’s operations in Canada and Latin America, as well as its Corporate activities are reported under Other Countries & Corporate. The Company’s restaurants offer a substantially uniform menu, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, several chicken sandwiches, Chicken McNuggets, wraps, French fries, salads, oatmeal, shakes, McFlurry desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, pies, soft drinks, coffee, McCafe beverages and other beverages. McDonald’s franchised restaurants are owned and operated under one of the following structures: conventional franchise, developmental license or affiliate. Google Finance
