McDonald's Corp. MCDis set to report its first-quarter 2018 financial numbers on Apr 30, before the opening bell.
In the last reported quarter, the company pulled off a positive earnings surprise of 7.6%. Also, McDonald's earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 6.
What to Expect?
The question lingering in investors’ minds now is whether McDonald's will be able to deliver a positive earnings surprise in the quarter to be reported. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter is pegged at $1.67, higher than $1.47 in the year-ago quarter. Of late, the company’s earnings estimates have been stable. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the company’s witnessed earnings growth of 19% on a year-over-year basis.
Meanwhile, analysts polled by Zacks expect revenues of nearly $4,915 million, down more than 13% from the prior-year quarter.
Let’s delve deeper to find out how the company’s top and bottom lines will shape up this earnings season.
Comps Growth to Continue
McDonald’s, which has reported comparable sales growth for 10 straight quarters, is likely to continue the uptrend in first-quarter 2018. Moreover, the company has been increasingly focusing on growing guest traffic in a bid to boost comps growth. In this regard, McDonald’s is striving to achieve operational excellence, innovate, offer a value menu and roll out more limited-time offerings. Also, the company expects its velocity accelerators of Experience of the Future, digital and delivery to drive growth over the long term.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s is consistently trying to improve its performance in the International Lead Markets, which include Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the UK. The company intends to drive comps growth in these markets through introduction of value meals, customizing the menu to local customer tastes, reimaging of restaurants, efficient marketing and promotions, improved service and increased convenience via delivery.