McDonald’s: Wall Street questions future growth
Roadsidepictures/Flickr.com
BY KATIE ROGERS– MEDILL NEWS SERVICE
By attracting weary, worried customers with dirt-cheap food options, there’s no doubt that McDonald’s Corp. became a corporate anomaly amid the severe recession.
But after such a rapid period of growth in the first quarter, some analysts think the fast food giant might not have anywhere else to grow.
Morgan Stanley downgraded MCD stock Thursday from “equal-weight” to “overweight,” reporting that June and July 2009 sales numbers indicated “clear evidence of a gradual deceleration in sales, especially in the core US and European markets.”
Louisville-based Yum! Brands Inc. (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut) is the brokerage’s new favorite in the fast-food industry, given the company’s potential to expand globally.
In its Q2 earnings statement last week, McDonald’s said it will be pushing its McCafé coffee line — coffee now accounts for 5 percent of the company’s sales — and Angus beef burger line to drive revenue in the second half of the year.
McDonald’s shares closed Thursday at $55.59, down 82 cents from the previous day’s close. Yum! shares, on the other hand, closed at $35.30, up $1.35 from the day before.
Tags: Business, economy, Food, mcdonald's, news, recession, Restaurants, stocks
