Mcdonald’S February Sales Drop As U.s. Slumps For Fourth Month

[Sancho Panza]

Bloomberg 10/3/14

'McDonald’s Corp. (MCD:US), the world’s largest restaurant chain, said sales at stores open at least 13 months fell 0.3 percent in February as its U.S. business slumped for the fourth straight month. Analysts estimated a 0.1 percent decline, the average of 15 projections from Consensus Metrix. Domestic same-store sales slid 1.4 percent, Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s said in a statement today. Analysts estimated a drop of 0.6 percent.

McDonald’s, which has more than 14,200 U.S. locations, has been trying to attract Americans by advertising coffee and breakfast foods. The Big Mac seller recently began testing raspberry pastries in San Diego stores as fast-food chains compete to lure diners amid shaky consumer confidence.

U.S. sales in February were hurt by “severe winter weather,” the company said in the statement.

The shares fell 0.1 percent to $95.50 in New York on March 7, the most recent trading day. McDonald’s has slumped 1.6 percent this year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Restaurants Index declined 1.7 percent.'

Bloomberg 10/2/14

'New Dollar Menu Isn’t Helping McDonald's

Three months since McDonald’s (MCD) relaunched its popular Dollar Menu as the Dollar Menu And More, with options ranging from $1 to $5, the chain has yet to boost sales. McDonald’s reported today that same-store sales in the U.S. were down 3.3 percent in January, following a 3.8 percent decrease in December and a 0.8 percent drop in November.

Bad weather and an unexpected drop in consumer confidence worked against the chain in January. Traffic to U.S. restaurants was already down in the fourth quarter (which included about two months with the new menu) and down 1.6 percent for full year 2013.

The Dollar Menu and More aimed to give customers a “value ladder” based on their discretionary spending, Chief Executive Don Thompson said when it was launched. McDonald’s hoped it would increase traffic to stores, improve margins, and give the chain some pricing flexibility.'

Best hit the streets and load up with 6.38% Greek ten years while you can.

[interestrateripoff]

It's the Big McLess Recovery.

[Sancho Panza]

It's the Big McLess Recovery.

Taper began in Dec,it's nearly a coincidence.

[anonguest]

Taper began in Dec,it's nearly a coincidence.

Maybe Americans are being financially forced to overcome their laziness and actually go back to cooking/making their own meals?

[winkie]

Should anyone be that surprised?

[Sancho Panza]

Maybe Americans are being financially forced to overcome their laziness and actually go back to cooking/making their own meals?

It's certainly a sign of the times I believe.

Whilst outward appearances eg GDP growth show outward signs of health,stories like these undermine the narrative.

The USA has had decreasing economic participation rates since 2000-roughly flatlining to 2008 and entering a steeper drop off since then.

Number of US households on foostamps up from 10% in 2004 to 20% now.

'

The USDA says that there were 23,052,388 households on food stamps in the average month of fiscal 2013, an increase of 722,675 from fiscal year 2012, when there were 22,329,713 households on food stamps in the average month. '

Edited March 10, 2014 by Sancho Panza

[katchytitle]

It's certainly a sign of the times I believe.

Whilst outward appearances eg GDP growth show outward signs of health,stories like these undermine the narrative.

The USA has had decreasing economic participation rates since 2000-roughly flatlining to 2008 and entering a steeper drop off since then.

Number of US households on foostamps up from 10% in 2004 to 20% now.

'

The USDA says that there were 23,052,388 households on food stamps in the average month of fiscal 2013, an increase of 722,675 from fiscal year 2012, when there were 22,329,713 households on food stamps in the average month. '

Wasn't the guy who built whatsapp on foodstamps? Isn't that USA's equivalent of working tax credit/ unemployment benefits...

I never remember the weather being such an issue from 2000 - 2007....the media always need a very simple cause and effect to report. If only they were incentivised to talk about human cycles, population growth rates and the greed of the 1% status quo

[rh2409]

Wasn't the guy who built whatsapp on foodstamps? Isn't that USA's equivalent of working tax credit/ unemployment benefits...

I never remember the weather being such an issue from 2000 - 2007....the media always need a very simple cause and effect to report. If only they were incentivised to talk about human cycles, population growth rates and the greed of the 1% status quo

This new is a "straw in the wind." McDees is a counter-cyclical business, i.e it sells cheap food so tends to do better when times are hard: that they're doing badly is an interesting signal as to how crap (beyond MSN propaganda) the US economy actually is. (Unless you choose to believe the "its was the weather" bunkum).

People tell me that I'm slightly odd...

itsarandomworld

[200p]

The Breakfasts are too expensive.

You can get an all you can eat buffet at Toby Carvery for £3.99, and most local pubs offer all you can eat sides at Carverys in the evening for £5.35 (E.g. Bold Forester outside Ashurst).

[chronyx]

I wouldn't eat there if it was all you can eat for 1 penny.

Maybe people are still spending, just not on that crap.

[Snafu]

I went to IKEA at the weekend. Young child with us, so we hung on the gates (we'd been up since 8 anyway!).

There were probably about a 100 people standing outside the entrance before it was open (with another hundred waiting in the cars). The majority made a dash to the restaurant that opens at 10:30. The actual store opens at 11:00.

Most people had fry ups - I saw beans and toast. We had cinnamon buns and scones and the coffee was free. I paid 4.60 for two coffees, two scones and two cinnamon buns...! Not sure how this is relevant, but maybe people are going where things are cheaper.

[winkie]

I wouldn't eat there if it was all you can eat for 1 penny.

Maybe people are still spending, just not on that crap.

They were popular when they were a novelty, something new to eat and try....they are no longer cheap if feeding a family, also people are more health conscious than ever before..... we also had the meat scandal recently, and processed fast foods are out of fashion, no longer a treat, only something to grab if very hungry and short of time.....can buy a nice joint of beef from the butcher and with roast potatoes and fresh veg could feed a family of four for what it would cost to buy a fast food take-away.....not including the journey to get there, parking and queueing to eat sitting on a plastic seat....is it me or is there always the same smell what ever branch you enter?

[wonderpup]

Interesting to see the Champions of low pay like McD and Wallmart hitting the skids- there is a sort of poetic justice in it I guess. Maybe if these corporations had chosen to champion fairer pay their customer base might now be a bit larger or able to pay a bit more?

Unlike many employers they can't really fall back on the comforting argument that their workers do not represent their customer demographic- because in their case the staff and a large proportion of their customers are the same socio economic groups.

[rh2409]

Surely what you say indicates an improving economy?

No..if the US economy was improving you'd expect slower sales at McDees...in fact it's not improving so you'd expect better sales at McDees...

People tell me that I'm slightly odd...

itsrandomworld

[@contradevian]

I wouldn't eat there if it was all you can eat for 1 penny.

Maybe people are still spending, just not on that crap.

Not been for ages, and the last time spent a fiver which struck me as a lot. Mostly students when I visited. For the cost of a daily MacD one could dine on steak.

Thought I heard that Greggs were suffering a bit too.

[Venger]

Interesting to see the Champions of low pay like McD and Wallmart hitting the skids- there is a sort of poetic justice in it I guess. Maybe if these corporations had chosen to champion fairer pay their customer base might now be a bit larger or able to pay a bit more?

Unlike many employers they can't really fall back on the comforting argument that their workers do not represent their customer demographic- because in their case the staff and a large proportion of their customers are the same socio economic groups.

Oh look, it's lefty-conomics again. Companies/investors should be charities.

Don't like it... don't shop there. Why are people working there in the first place. You should be grateful they employ people. If they over-extend and fail, it's an opportunity for someone else. Employers aren't charities wonderpup. Most well-run companies pay market rates appropriate for people with relevant skills who add positive value to their companies.

If you want to rag on something, rag on landlords and wasteful governments and those who've racked up massive debt to over-consume and have been/are protected from losses / system correction.

Peter Schiff: Why Wal-Mart can't pay $15/hour wages - ...

Yahoo! Finance

Dec 26, 2013 - From Yahoo Finance: Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, says Wal-Mart can't afford to pay its employees a minimum of $15 per hour.

http://finance.yahoo...-110803125.html

If that guy who started Whatsapp really was on food-stamps at one point, he's improved his own situation. Maybe he should have been forced to pay his programmers $200ph min-wage red tape to satisfy the left (instead of perhaps for free and a shareholding of company), who think it's all about having expert spenders in the economy, that no one should struggle, and not got business off the ground.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Venger

[Sancho Panza]

This new is a "straw in the wind." McDees is a counter-cyclical business, i.e it sells cheap food so tends to do better when times are hard: that they're doing badly is an interesting signal as to how crap (beyond MSN propaganda) the US economy actually is. (Unless you choose to believe the "its was the weather" bunkum).

http://in.reuters.com/finance/stocks/chart?symbol=MCD

It was $13 in the early 00's and has risen steadily since to $95 now.Hardly the definition of counter cyclical.

It's an incredibly well run business.It says a lot that they're struggling for revenue in the midst of a recovery,even with a dollar menu.

[@contradevian]

Oh look, it's lefty-conomics again. Companies/investors should be charities.

I know people that work for MacD. Worn out with early morning starts and 15 hour shifts, and they are young and they need the shifts to make rent every month! No doubt such shifts were made legal through a nice little EU opt out by Rentier Tories in cahoots with the capital classes.

I don't buy left/right arguments anymore. Only rentier/non rentier and most right wingers tend to be rentier shills. Their blessed market economics should never apply to any pies they have their fingers in.

[South Lorne]

Bloomberg 10/3/14

'McDonald’s Corp. (MCD:US), the world’s largest restaurant chain, said sales at stores open at least 13 months fell 0.3 percent in February as its U.S. business slumped for the fourth straight month. Analysts estimated a 0.1 percent decline, the average of 15 projections from Consensus Metrix. Domestic same-store sales slid 1.4 percent, Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s said in a statement today. Analysts estimated a drop of 0.6 percent.

McDonald’s, which has more than 14,200 U.S. locations, has been trying to attract Americans by advertising coffee and breakfast foods. The Big Mac seller recently began testing raspberry pastries in San Diego stores as fast-food chains compete to lure diners amid shaky consumer confidence.

U.S. sales in February were hurt by “severe winter weather,” the company said in the statement.

The shares fell 0.1 percent to $95.50 in New York on March 7, the most recent trading day. McDonald’s has slumped 1.6 percent this year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Restaurants Index declined 1.7 percent.'

Bloomberg 10/2/14

'New Dollar Menu Isn’t Helping McDonald's

Three months since McDonald’s (MCD) relaunched its popular Dollar Menu as the Dollar Menu And More, with options ranging from $1 to $5, the chain has yet to boost sales. McDonald’s reported today that same-store sales in the U.S. were down 3.3 percent in January, following a 3.8 percent decrease in December and a 0.8 percent drop in November.

Bad weather and an unexpected drop in consumer confidence worked against the chain in January. Traffic to U.S. restaurants was already down in the fourth quarter (which included about two months with the new menu) and down 1.6 percent for full year 2013.

The Dollar Menu and More aimed to give customers a “value ladder” based on their discretionary spending, Chief Executive Don Thompson said when it was launched. McDonald’s hoped it would increase traffic to stores, improve margins, and give the chain some pricing flexibility.'

...in the two dips into big freezes you can't even get out to drive to McDonalds...how could sales not dip....?...and end of January is 'pay your tax time' ...and when money is tight ..the tax man makes it tighter....

[The Ayatollah Buggeri]

Maybe Americans are being financially forced to overcome their laziness and actually go back to cooking/making their own meals?

We went to dinner on Saturday evening at a very popular Mexican restaurant in what is effectively a recession-proof city (about 90% of the jobs there are accounted for by a church-run university and hospital which is known throughout the region for paying well). It's normally packed, but that evening was almost deserted (only three tables occupied, ours included). We noticed the same thing in the other eateries in the same strip mall, which included a McVomits. No obvious reason that we could think of: there haven't been layoffs or anything else fundamental to hit the local economy.

[Sancho Panza]

I know people that work for MacD. Worn out with early morning starts and 15 hour shifts, and they are young and they need the shifts to make rent every month! No doubt such shifts were made legal through a nice little EU opt out by Rentier Tories in cahoots with the capital classes.

I don't buy left/right arguments anymore.

Only rentier/non rentier and most right wingers tend to be rentier shills.

[Sancho Panza]

...in the two dips into big freezes you can't even get out to drive to McDonalds...how could sales not dip....?...and end of January is 'pay your tax time' ...and when money is tight ..the tax man makes it tighter....

'Traffic to U.S. restaurants was already down in the fourth quarter (which included about two months with the new menu) and down 1.6 percent for full year 2013.'

[Venger]

I know people that work for MacD. Worn out with early morning starts and 15 hour shifts, and they are young and they need the shifts to make rent every month! No doubt such shifts were made legal through a nice little EU opt out by Rentier Tories in cahoots with the capital classes.

I don't buy left/right arguments anymore. Only rentier/non rentier and most right wingers tend to be rentier shills. Their blessed market economics should never apply to any pies they have their fingers in.

I know people who've worked full-time at McDonalds for a couple of years, who went on to do quite well for themselves . Including an actor who has been around a bit now, small parts mostly, but including a some nice paydays such as in one of Tom Cruise's blockbusters movies. He lived with his Mum whilst McDonalds earnings helped him invest in himself and advance in other things he wanted to do.

And later was in a flat-share. It was never a case of must look like an adult and rent a flat of my own, and 'McDonalds is going to be my entire life'. The provided employment and good employment according to him. He always had some money in his pocket. Such jobs can be useful work experience, or a means for other advancement.

Don't recall him doing 15 hour shifts though.

[Snugglybear]

I know people who've worked full-time at McDonalds for a couple of years, who went on to do quite well for themselves . Including an actor who has been around a bit now, small parts mostly, but including a some nice paydays such as in one of Tom Cruise's blockbusters movies. He lived with his Mum whilst McDonalds earnings helped him invest in himself and advance in other things he wanted to do.

And later was in a flat-share. It was never a case of must look like an adult and rent a flat of my own, and 'McDonalds is going to be my entire life'. The provided employment and good employment according to him. He always had some money in his pocket. Such jobs can be useful work experience, or a means for other advancement.

Don't recall him doing 15 hour shifts though.

You still have to pay rent on a flat share. And a share of the bills. I doubt whether aSecureTenant's acquaintances are each renting a flat of their own.

Also, some people do work in McDonalds and go on to better thngs. But how many? It reminds me of the propaganda for work in catering generally - "40% of so-and-so's managers started at the bottom". So, how many individuals is that, then? And what proportion of the workforce actually goes on into a management job?

[@contradevian]

You still have to pay rent on a flat share. And a share of the bills. I doubt whether aSecureTenant's acquaintances are each renting a flat of their own.

Also, some people do work in McDonalds and go on to better thngs. But how many? It reminds me of the propaganda for work in catering generally - "40% of so-and-so's managers started at the bottom". So, how many individuals is that, then? And what proportion of the workforce actually goes on into a management job?

Yes yes, but an actor went on to be famous!