McDonald’s Q1 earnings soar to $1.8 billion, beating expectations

McDonald’s quarterly revenue rose to $5.9 billion from $5.67 billion a year earlier.

U.S. McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest fast-food restaurant chain, increased its net profit in the first quarter of 2023 by 1.6 times, to $1.8 billion.

Revenues at the fast-food giant rose 4.1%. Earnings per share rose to $2.45 from $1.48. Earnings excluding one-time factors were $2.63 per share, beating analysts average forecast.

McDonald’s quarterly revenue rose to $5.9 billion from $5.67 billion a year earlier. The company’s revenue, excluding foreign exchange differences, increased by 8% in the last quarter.

McDonald’s global like-for-like sales increased 12.6% in the quarter, both domestically in the U.S. and internationally. Higher menu prices and increased customer traffic partly drove the growth.

“At McDonald’s, we’ve done well in good and bad times, so that makes us optimistic for the rest of the year,” commented CEO Chris Kempczynski.

During the past quarter, McDonald’s incurred $180 million in expenses due to lease terminations and employee layoffs as part of a corporate reorganization.

Outside the U.S., McDonald’s sales were better than forecast, with the growth of 8.5% in the U.K., France, Germany and Australia, and 10.5% in China and Japan.