- GE, Comcast Agree on NBC Universal Valuation: Report
- Obama Delays Start of Asia Trip to Attend Memorial
- BofA Board in Civil War Over Lewis' Succesor
- For the Jobless, 10% is Harder Than Before
- Week Ahead: Stocks Search for Catalyst in Quiet Week
- Outlook: Dollar to Ride Higher on Bleak Jobs Report
- Geithner: More Stimulus, Not a Bank Tax
- Cramer: Earnings, IPOs Dominate Next Week
- Windfall is Seen as Bank Bonuses are Paid in Stock
- Tamminen: Why Does Oklahoma Want To Drown New York?
- Food Network, HGTV Drive Scripps Networks' Upside Surprise
- Tommy Lee, Medical Tourism and Nasty Santa, Your Emails
- U.S. Markets Gain 3% for the Week Despite 10.2% Unemployment
- Disney's 'Carol' Tests Widest 3-D Release Ever
- Stimulus II? Jobs Tax Credit=Cash For Clunkers
- Rockwell Automation Earnings: What Options Are Saying
- Gold Will Touch Higher Lows and Higher Highs: Analyst
- Is Misery Alive And Well in Your Office?
- Stock volatility is back, a sign of an aging bull?
- Precision Machine opening plant in Sturgis, SD
- NM auto dealer tried to save business by gambling
- Northrop sells advisory services unit for $1.65B
- Christmas comes early: ‘Carol’ tops box office
- Philly transit strike in 6th day; no new talks
- Obama says it's now Senate's turn on health care
- Dubai says it has repaid $1 billion aviation bond
- Indian PM hopes for 7 percent growth next year
Text Size 
By Ros Krasny
BOSTON (Reuters) - High unemployment has had "some impact" on the breakfast business at McDonald's Corp <MCD.N> as fewer people pick up food on the way to work, Chief Executive Jim Skinner said on Tuesday.
The impact has been inconsistent, reflecting the uneven path of unemployment across the nation, Skinner told reporters after a Chief Executives Club of Boston lunch.
"It depends on the market. In areas where you have extraordinary unemployment, and people are not up and about in the morning, you're going to have some fall-off," he said.
U.S. unemployment is flirting with 10 percent -- the highest level in roughly three decades -- and many investors have worried what impact that would have on McDonald's high-margin breakfast business that accounts for around 25 percent of U.S. sales.
According to many analysts, McDonald's breakfast sales exceed those at every other fast-food chain.
McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, has picked up market share during the deep U.S. recession as many consumers trade down to the fast-food chain from more expensive, sit-down dining venues and it is widely viewed as the industry's best-performing company.
While McDonald's has made gains during the recession, Skinner said an economic recovery would not mean the company would falter.
"We've been successful before the recession, and we expect to be stronger coming out of the recession," Skinner said.
Shares of McDonald's were down 12 cents to $59.08 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Ros Krasny and Ross Kerber in Boston and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
Print
Email
- Rumors abound that Oprah will leave her show to start a new network. What would this mean for daytime TV?
- A private equity specialist sponsored a stand-up comedy troupe in New York to prove that CEOs can, in fact, be funny.
- Cramer did the research and found eight stocks that lead the pack. Read on to get his top picks.
- Did Hideki Matsui’s performance make it more likely that the Yankees will pay to have him back?
- Which wines should you bring—or serve—with holiday meals this year? Ask a connoisseur.
- Two competitors in this year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas have stories fit for Hollywood.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes