McDonald’s sales growth slows in Q4 amid middle east conflict

February 07, 2024 (MLN): McDonald's Corp’s sales missed market expectations in the fourth quarter of 2023, hurt partly by the conflict in the Middle East.

Although segment performance reflected positive comparable sales in all geographic regions, the Middle East was an exception, which was impacted by the war in the region, said the company in its earnings report on Monday.

Comparable sales, a key metric for the restaurant industry, rose 3.4% QoQ during the period, the slowest since 4QCY20.

This was because International Developmental Licensed Markets segment increased by only 0.7%. While other segments also recorded a slowdown in growth rate, with U.S. increasing 4.3%, and International Operated Markets segment increasing 4.4% over the quarter.

Shares closed down 3.73% on Tuesday.

To recall, earlier this year, McDonald’s Corp’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said the company is experiencing a “meaningful business impact” in the Middle East due to the war between Israel and Hamas.

During the review period, diluted earnings per share was $2.95, representing a 14% increase (11% in constant currencies), and surpassing market expectations by approximately 4.4%.

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