McDonald’s growth surges

: McDonald's Corp.,waging a comeback effort under chief executive officer Steve Easterbrook, posted its best quarterly growth in almost four years after a move to serve breakfast all day helped fuel US sales. Global same-store sales surged 5% in the fourth quarter, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said in a statement on Monday. Analysts had estimated 3.2%. Profit also topped predictions, raising optimism that Easterbrook can pull McDonald's out of its worst slump in more than a decade. Excluding some items, fourth-quarter earnings amounted to $1.28 a share, compared with a projection of $1.23. Revenue was $6.34 billion in the period, beating the $6.23 billion estimate. US same-store sales jumped 5.7%, helped in part by mild weather. Analysts had predicted 2.7%.

The fast-food chain started serving breakfast all day in the US in October, bowing to a longstanding demand from customers. Easterbrook, who took the CEO job in March, also has focused on speeding up service and improving order accuracy at the world's biggest restaurant chain. "We took bold, urgent action in 2015 to reset the business and position McDonald's to deliver sustained profitable growth," Easterbrook said in Monday's statement. "We enter 2016 committed to managing the business for the long term." The shares rose as much as 4.5% to $123.72 in early trading after the results were released. In 2015, McDonald's gained 26%, outpacing the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which lost 0.7%.