Light sales in Europe and Asia dragged on McDonald's earnings in the second quarter, the fast food giant reported on Monday, as the company fell short of Wall Street's expectations despite new menu items and higher U.S. sales.
The Oak Brook, Illinois-based burger behemoth posted earnings excluding items of $1.38 per share, up from $1.32 a share in the year-earlier period. Revenue increased to $7.08 billion from $6.92 billion a year ago.
Yet those results were not in line with analysts' estimates, which had expected the company to report earnings excluding items of $1.40 a share on $7.10 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Overall, both U.S. and total global sales rose by a percent. Still, gains were undermined by relatively flat performance in Europe and the Asia, Middle East and Africa regions.
"While our consolidated results this quarter were positive, global comparable sales for July are expected to be relatively flat," said CEO Don Thompson in a statement. "Based on recent sales trends, our results for the remainder of the year are expected to remain challenged."