McDonald’s is trading up after reporting another month of strong same-store sales, a trend that continues despite the current recession and economic turmoil. Its low-priced menu items have evidently remained attractive to consumers, propelling global same-store sales to rise 7.1% in January. During that period, the company saw a same-store sales rise of 5.4% in the U.S., 7.1% in Europe, and 10.2% in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East, and Africa division.
Just as McDonald’s restaurant sales have shown resiliency during these tough times, so has its stock. In fact, McDonald’s is the only Dow component that is up since this time last year. Here’s the best and the worst of the Dow over the past 12 months:
Best-Performing Dow Components Since February 2008
- McDonald’s +9.0%
- Wal-Mart -0.7%
- Johnson & Johnson -6.1%
- ExxonMobil -9.2%
- Verizon -12.7%
Worst-Performing Dow Components Since February 2008
- General Motors -87.5%
- Citigroup -83.0%
- Bank of America -82.4%
- Alcoa -77.0%
- General Electric -61.8%
Additionally, success over the past 12 months amongst S&P 500 components isn’t much better. Only 10 stocks or 2% of the S&P 500 are up since last February. Leading the way on that index are Family Dollar (+43%), Apollo Group (+36%), Cephalon (+32%), Amgen (+29%), and Autozone (+24%). During this period, the S&P 500 is down 35% overall, while the Dow is fallen 33%.
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