On July 26th, McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) reported its second quarter financial results. They announced that revenues dropped by 3% year over year to $5.72 billion even though global comparable sales grew 10%. At the same time, systemwide sales grew 4% or 10% in constant currencies.
The company notes that sales would have increased by 3% if the currency was kept constant year over year, with U.S comparable sales growing 3.7%, while both international and international developmental markets grew 13% and 16%, respectively.
The company said sales in the U.S were driven, “by strategic menu price increases and value offerings across both our everyday menu and digital offerings.” At the same time, the sales in both international markets grew due to a generally strong performance in specific countries.
The company announced that both its operating income and net income decreased by 36% and 46%, respectively, to $1.7 billion and $1.19 billion.
Mcdonald’s currently has 38 analysts covering the stock with an average 12-month price target of $279, or an upside of about 7% from the current stock price. Out of the 38 analysts, 9 have strong buy ratings, 18 have buy ratings, and 11 analysts have hold ratings on the stock. The street high price target sits at $328, or an upside of 25%.
In BMO Capital Market’s note on the results, they reiterate their outperform rating and raised their 12-month price target to $285 from $270, saying that the company “realized strong momentum in a challenging environment and against high expectations.”
BMO adds that the price target increase comes after a slight estimate tweak and that they believe Mcdonald’s has strong positioning and flexibility as it relates to the current macro backdrop.
On the results, BMO says that McDonald’s segments are all 15-20% above pre-COVID levels for the quarter and believe this is due to Mcdonald’s putting a larger focus on value offers and digital offers. Though management noted that they had seen the consumers “trade down” within lower income to value offerings and fewer combo meals.
BMO believes that we will see easing US inflation as they believe we might be seeing peak inflation in the US, coupled with an accelerating international segment which will lead to better margins.
Lastly, BMO believes that Mcdonald’s is the “best-positioned for consumer trade down and has the flexibility to adapt its go-to-market strategy for the environment.”
Below you can see BMO’s updated estimates.
Information for this briefing was found via Sedar and Refinitiv. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
