McDonald’s falls short on revenue for the first time since 2022

The US earnings season continues. To kick things off this week, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD), released Q4 2023 and full year results before the opening bell on Monday.

World’s largest restaurant chain reported revenue that fell short of Wall Street expectations for the first time since Q2 2022 at $6.406 billion vs. $6.448 billion expected. Revenue was up by 8% vs. Q4 2022.

Earnings per share (EPS) reached $2.95 vs. analyst estimate of $2.827 per share. EPS was also up by 8% year-over-year.

Full year revenue reached $25.493 billion, up from $23.182 billion in 2022. EPS grew by 39% year-over-year to $11.56 per share.

Company overview

• Founded: 1940
• Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, United States
• Number of employees: 150,000 (2022)
• Industry: Fast food restaurants, real estate
• Key people: Enrique Hernandez Jr. (chairman), Chris Kempczinski (president & CEO)

CEO commentary

“Our global comparable sales growth of 9% for the year is a testament to the tremendous dedication of the entire McDonald’s System,” CEO of McDonald’s, Chris Kempczinski said in a press release.

“Strong execution of our Accelerating the Arches strategy has driven over 30% comparable sales growth since 2019 as our talented crew members, and the industry’s best franchisees and suppliers have demonstrated proven agility with a relentless focus on the customer. By evolving the way we work across the System, we remain confident in the resilience of our business amid macro challenges that will persist in 2024,” Kempczinski added.

Stock reaction

The stock was down by 3.73% at the end of trading on Monday, trading at $285.97 a share, falling to its lowest level since 8/12/23.

Stock performance

• 5 day: -2.17%
• 1 month: -2.03%
• 3 months: +6.34%
• Year-to-date: -3.55%
• 1 year: +6.74%

McDonald’s stock price targets

• Bank of America: $341
• Stifel Nicolaus: $322
• HSBC: $317
• Truist Financial: $340
• Piper Sandler: $299
• TD Cowen: $325
• BMO Capital Markets: $335
• Royal Bank of Canada: $315
• Citigroup: $310
• DZ Bank: $300
• Wedbush: $310
• Stephens: $300
• JP Morgan Chase & Co.: $278

McDonald’s Corporation is the 51st largest company in the world with a market cap of $207.42 billion, according to CompaniesMarketCap.

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Sources: McDonald’s Corporation, TradingView, MarketWatch, MarketBeat, CompaniesMarketCap