McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) today said it planned to invest $1.9 billion to open about 800 new restaurants and fix-up existing locations as it continues to generate record earnings.
Fourth quarter earnings were $1.24 billion, or $1 per share, up from $608.5 million, or 48 cents a year earlier. Revenue jumped 11 percent to $5.63 billion. Excluding some costs such as the disposition of Chipolte Mexican Grill , profit was 61 cents, matching the forecast the Oakbrook, Illinois-based company gave last week.
"We begin 2007 from a position of strength and I am confident we will continue to deliver sustained profitable growth well into the future," said CEO Jim Skinner in the earnings press release.
The Associated Press points out that this is the result of a turnaround strategy that McDonald's implemented in 2003 that included adding new higher-priced menu items, such as salads and chicken sandwiches and accepting credit cards.
``Jim Skinner has done a heck of a good job revitalizing the brand in the U.S. with healthier options,'' Bernard Diggins, a partner at McDonald's shareholder Gardner Lewis Asset Management told Bloomberg News before earnings were released
Nonetheless, investors may have been expecting better. Shares of the home of the Big Mac fell 39 cents to $44.46 in pre-market trading.
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