McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) delivered another juicy quarter for investors to chew on. It's beginning to seem like the fast-food giant can't be stopped.
First-quarter net income increased 11%, to $1.09 billion, or $1.00 per share. The earnings figure included a $0.05-per-share currency benefit. Revenue jumped 10%, to $5.61 billion, but adjusted for currency effects, revenue grew 4%.
Global same-store sales (aka comps) increased a healthy 4.2%. International growth offset some sluggishness at home; European comps increased 5.2% and Asia/Pacific, Middle East, and Africa increased 5.7%. U.S. comps increased only 1.5%.
Despite formidable competition from well-established quick-servers Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), Wendy's/Arby's (NYSE: WEN), and Burger King (NYSE: BKC), Mickey D's continues to show impressive growth. It's hard for Yum!'s KFC to argue that its new Double Down sandwich -- which uses chicken as buns -- isn't a sign of attention-seeking desperation in a difficult fast-food climate. And let's not even get started on the controversial topic of Burger King's healthiness, mentally or otherwise, since yet another recent ad campaign caused a bit of a row.
Meanwhile, McDonald's is giving Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) a good run for the money, as McDonald's furthered its caffeinated McCafe business by offering lower-priced frappes.
Shareholders should have no beef with McDonald's. The stock has performed well -- up more than 31% over the last year -- and its actual business performance has also been admirable, unlike many retail and restaurant stocks that seem to have bubbled higher on investor hopes and little else. Cheesecake Factory's (Nasdaq: CAKE) trading at 23 times forward earnings is one example of a pricier restaurant stock with a business where growth might be curtailed by an uncertain economy.
With a forward P/E of 16, McDonald's still looks like a good deal for investors, too. What do you think? Use the comments boxes below to chime in.
Queue up some related Foolishness:
- McDonald's seeks a Chinese fortune.
- In January, we asked if McDonald's had reached a turning point. Apparently not, given today's results.
