Wallstreet.org – January 26, 2016 – McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is up 1.5% after CFO Kevin Ozan said in a post-earnings conference call the company is exploring a sale of a portion of its stake in its Japan business, according to Reuters. The Nikkei business daily reported last month that the burger chain had reached out to investors about selling a part of the stake for about 100 billion yen ($826.2 million).
Before the market opened, McDonald’s reported better-than-expected Q4 results. Q4 net income rose to $1.21 billion, or $1.31 per share, from $1.10 billion, or $1.13 per share, a year earlier, beating the $1.23 mean estimate compiled by Capital IQ. Revenues fell to $6.34 billion from $6.57 billion, still topping the $6.24 billion consensus. Global comparable sales rose 5.0% year-on-year, with U.S. comparable sales rising 5.7% and international comparable sales gaining 4.2%.
The stock is down 0.05% or $0.06 after the news, hitting $119.15 per share. About 15.14 million shares traded hands or 132.92% up from the average. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) has risen 23.12% since June 18, 2015 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 33.22% the S&P500.
McDonald’s Corporation operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants in the United States, Europe, the Asia/Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, and Latin America. The company’s restaurants offer various food products, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2014, it operated 36,258 restaurants, including 29,544 franchised restaurants comprising 20,774 franchised to conventional franchisees, 5,228 licensed to developmental licensees, and 3,542 licensed to foreign affiliates; and 6,714 company-operated restaurants. The company was founded in 1940 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.