Sales at McDonald’s U.S. restaurants open since the beginning of 2020 grew an average of 13.6 percent year over year, beating analysts’ projections and helping to shore up global sales, which rose 7.5 percent during the period, the company announced.
U.S. sales were bolstered by meals celebrities promoted, such as musician Travis Scott, new menu items including a crispy chicken sandwich, a successful promotion for spicy nuggets, and consumers’ federal stimulus checks, the company said.
Outside the U.S., sales were hobbled by COVID virus flare-ups and resulting restrictions on businesses and social movements.
Overall, McDonald’s reported first-quarter total sales of $5.1 billion, a 9-percent increase over 2020’s first three months, with the news pushing up share prices 1.2 percent.
The strong numbers prompted the company to raise its 2021 sales projections and forecast a better performance by its non-U.S. restaurants, although those still are expected to underperform domestic stores.
Now, instead of being short of customers, the chain is short of workers.
“We’re seeing… definitely a very tight labor market that’s putting pressure both on us” at the corporate level “and on our franchisees,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in comments quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
TRENDPOST: We note this article to continue to emphasize that despite all the media hype about people becoming health conscious, the vast majority are fast-food junkies.
Indeed, as detailed in this and numerous Trends Journals, some 72 percent of Americans are overweight and 40 percent obese. And, people suffering from Type 2 diabetes and obesity are among the highest proportion of coronavirus victims.
