McDonalds: Still serving billions -- at home and abroad

It appears that the largest food service company in the world, McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD), had another very strong quarter during the first three months of 2007.

A few highlights: EPS at $0.62 (up 27%), revenues increased 11% to $5.4 billion, and net income of $762 million. That's all well and good, right? While I'm no fan of almost anything on the McDonald's menu, plenty of people are. And increasingly, those people live in other countries.

McDonald's international growth plans are moving forward at a good clip. Soon, McDonald's will be turning over about 1,600 restaurants in the Latin America and Caribbean to a "developmental licensee" who will franchise the locations. That's a smart strategy. Domestically, there are not much more food areas that McDonald's can hit. If it wants to continue it's positive forward momentum, it will have to continue to grow. But how? Can it grow with more varied food offerings? Questionable. But offering more healthy choices to its menu has helped it grow sales past the fast food junkie.

Growth is global these days, whether you make cars, PCs or chicken sandwiches. Creativity may have to spill from McDonald's management coffers consistently to maintain its past growth, however.