McDonald's U.S. same-store sales miss expectations

[October 22, 2019]   (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp <MCD.N> fell short of Wall Street expectations for quarterly sales at its established U.S. outlets on Tuesday, as it battled intense competition from rival fast food chains and restaurants that offer plant-based options.

A McDonald's "PLT" burger with a Beyond Meat plant-based patty at one of 28 test restaurant locations in London, Ontario, Canada October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Moe Doiron/File Photo

The world's largest fast food chain has trailed Restaurant Brands' <QSR.TO> Burger King and Yum Brands' <YUM.N> KFC in offering plant-based burgers, having partnered with Beyond Meat <BYND.O> only last month in Canada.

Sales at U.S. restaurants open for at least 13 months rose 4.8% in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, below the 5.17% growth expected by analysts, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Globally, McDonald's reported better-than-expected comparable sales growth of 5.9%, driven by strong growth in markets such as the UK and France.

The company earned $2.11 per share. Analysts were expecting profit of $2.21.

Total revenue, including both U.S. and overseas operations, rose to $5.43 billion, slightly below analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru and Hilary Russ in New York; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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