Revenue highest since McDonald’s began reporting comparable sales in 1993
People have been loving it, again. Sales at McDonald’s surged last year, increasing 13.8% in U.S. stores that had been open at least 13 months.
The annual was the largest ever recorded by the company since 1993, when it began reporting and tracking comparable sales, reports CNN Business.
Sales jumped particularly high in the fourth quarter — increasing 7.5% — in part due to the success of McDonald’s crispy chicken sandwich and McRib, which the company brought back for a limited time starting back on Nov. 1
McDonald’s also dipped its toes in the digital space by releasing McRib inspired NFTs as a celebration of the 40-year anniversary of the sandwich.
The sales numbers have also been helped by an increase in menu prices, which, along with McDonald’s, many restaurants have had to do on account of rising inflation rates.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in October that he expected menu prices for 2021 to be 6% higher on average than in 2020, while noting customers seemed to be taking it well, reports CNN Business.
In general, eating out was an average of 6% more expensive in 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Increasing its prices also helped McDonald’s deal with having to pay employees’ higher wages and more expensive paper and food costs.
McDonald’s CFO Kevin Ozan said he expects the price of paper and food to continue to rise in 2022, during an analyst call on Thursday, reports CNN Business.
Despite the increase in sales — amounting to $6 billion in total revenue — McDonald’s fell short of analysts and Wall Street’s expectation. The company’s stock was down around 2% at the time of this writing.
International sales, meanwhile, struggled in areas heavily impacted by COVID-19-related issues, notably China and Australia, reports CNN Business.
Sales did grow however in international markets with less pandemic concerns and closures, such as France, Italy, Germany, and the U.K.
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