McDonald's (MCD, Financial) is set to announce its fourth-quarter earnings, with Wall Street analysts forecasting revenue of $6.44 billion, slightly up from $6.41 billion the previous year. The expected earnings per share (EPS) is projected at $2.83, down from $2.95 last year.
The fast-food giant experienced a sales resurgence following the introduction of value meals and the permanent addition of the Chicken Big Mac. However, in late October, the CDC linked McDonald's 4-ounce beef burgers and onion slices to an E. coli outbreak, affecting 90 people. This health scare led to a significant drop in customer traffic at U.S. restaurants, particularly in impacted states.
In response, McDonald's changed its onion supplier, and the CDC declared the outbreak over by early December. Customer traffic has been gradually recovering since the incident. Despite this, analysts from StreetAccount estimate a 0.6% decline in U.S. same-store sales for the quarter.
Overall, McDonald's is expected to report a 1% decline in global same-store sales, marking the third consecutive quarter of decline for the chain.
