McDonald’s global sales still in decline

McDonald’s has started to see a modest recovery across its markets, though global and UK sales are still down.

Like-for-like sales fell 2.2% in Q3 to 30 September 2020 - with the UK, Germany and Spain all seeing declines – although this marked a considerable uplift from its 23.9% Q2 worldwide decline.

Same-store sales across its international markets segment, which includes the UK, fell 4.4%, whilst its international development licensed markets segment including the likes of Latin America and China fell 10.1%.

The company saw a return to growth in its US market, up 4.6%, with September seeing the highest monthly same-store sales in nearly a decade.

Shares of the brand, which has a market value of $177 billion, have risen more than 16% this year, and it has said it is increasing its quarterly cash dividend by 3% to $1.29 per share.

“Our third-quarter performance demonstrates the underlying resilience of the McDonald’s brand,” said CEO Chris Kempczinski. “Our unique strengths, including our unrivalled drive-thru presence around the world, advanced delivery and digital capabilities, and marketing scale have become even more important during the pandemic.

“Our prior investments in these areas position us to further our competitive advantage and enable restaurant crew to continue to safely provide customers our great-tasting food.”