McDonald’s eyes rebound after weak Q1 sales

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is scheduled to announce its second quarter earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th, before the market opens.

Wall Street expects a modest year-over-year improvement in both earnings and revenue as the company continues to navigate inflationary pressures and shifting global consumer demand.

Analyst estimates call for EPS of $3.15, representing a 6% increase from the year-ago quarter. Revenue of $6.7 billion, up 3.27% year-over-year.

Estimate revision trends have been mixed in the run-up to the print. Over the past 90 days, EPS estimates have seen 13 upward and 13 downward revisions. Revenue estimates have seen 11 upward and 8 downward revisions.

Over the past two years, McDonald’s has a 63% beat rate for both EPS and revenue, highlighting moderate consistency but leaving room for surprises, particularly on same-store sales and international segment performance.

Key areas of focus for investors will include same-store sales trends, particularly in international operated markets; franchisee profitability and margins in a still-inflationary environment; menu innovation and digital growth; and management’s commentary on consumer spending trends across key geographies.

The company’s global comparable sales declined 1% in Q1, falling short of analyst expectations for a 0.5% increase. U.S. comparable sales dropped 3.6%, worse than the anticipated 1.0% decline and marking the segment’s weakest performance since 2020. The declines were attributed to negative comparable guest counts.

McDonald’s stock has largely underperformed in 2025, lagging the broader market amid concerns about macroeconomic uncertainty and uneven discretionary spending. MCD shares have grown 4.3% YTD, compared to S&P 500’s 7.5% rise.