McDonald’s sales dip in US, underscoring challenges
McDonald’s is trying to stage a comeback, but still has plenty of work to do in its flagship U.S. market.
The world’s biggest burger chain said U.S. sales dipped 1.3 percent at established locations for the final three months of 2016. Its performance was better overseas, and the sales figure rose globally.
The Oak Brook, Illinois, company attributed the sales decline at home to a tough comparison from the year-ago period, when it introduced an all-day breakfast menu. The results nevertheless underscore the hurdles McDonald’s faces in its push to revitalize its image while facing broader industry challenges, including supermarkets and convenience stores selling more prepared foods and cheaper groceries, encouraging people to eat at home.
Earlier this month, The NPD Group said it expects customer traffic for the restaurant industry to remain “stalled” this year, as it was in 2016.
McDonald’s isn’t alone in struggling to attract more customers. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has said the retail landscape would undergo a “seismic” change as people do more of their shopping online, leading to less foot traffic in general. The coffee chain’s transactions at established U.S. locations slipped by 1 percent in the previous quarter.
McDonald’s, meanwhile, has conceded that it failed to keep up with changing tastes and that it’s speeding up efforts to transform into a “modern, progressive burger company.” It recently introduced its Big Mac in different sizes, for instance, and has been testing fresh beef for some of its burgers.
Heading into 2017, McDonald’s said it would focus on growing customer traffic.
Yahoo’s 4Q shows modest strides
Yahoo’s financial performance improved slightly during the fourth quarter while the company dealt with the fallout from massive security breaches that have jeopardized the $4.8 billion sale of its internet operations to Verizon Communications.
The fourth-quarter report released Monday provided the latest snapshot of a shrinking company that has been steadily losing ground in the digital advertising market that generates most of its revenue. Yahoo also disclosed the closure of the Verizon deal will be delayed for up to three months.
Although cost-cutting helped Yahoo bounce back from a loss during the same time in the previous year, the company’s net revenue slipped yet again to extend a downturn that has lasted through most of CEO Marissa Mayer’s four-and-halfyear tenure. In a sign of modest progress, Yahoo’s revenue fell 4 percent after subtracting ad commissions, Net interest income Noninterest income Net income Earnings per share Net interest income Noninterest income Net income Earnings per share $57.9 million $19.3 million $20.9 million $1.36 $227.6 million $77.6 million $81 million $5.26 snapping a streak of four consecutive quarters of double-digit declines.
Yahoo’s long-running slump culminated in the company’s agreement last summer to sell its email service, websites and mobile applications to Verizon.
But after striking the Verizon deal, Yahoo revealed that it had been hit by two $238.1 million $78.7 million $86.1 million $5.59
Newark-based Park National Corp., parent of Park National Bank, reported a 4.2 percent drop in profit for the Oct. 1-Dec. 31 quarter compared with the same period of 2015. For the year, profit increased 6.3 percent. Park said total loans rose to $5.23 billion as of Dec. 31, a 4.1 percent increase over the year. Source: Company reports separate hacking attacks that stole the email addresses, birth dates, answers to security questions, and other personal information from more than 1 billion user accounts. The break-ins occurred in 2013 and 2014, raising further questions about Yahoo’s security controls and the timing of its disclosures.