McDonald's crushes earnings estimates

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) continues to amaze investors.

The home of the Quarter Pounder today reported net income of $946.1 million, or 81 cents a share, compared with $762.4 million, or 62 cents, a year earlier, according to the earnings press release. Revenue increased to $5.61 billion. Wall Street analysts were expected profit of 70 cents on revenue of $5.44 billion.

Gains outside the U.S. helped off-set the weak performance of its domestic business

"For the quarter, Europe and Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa both delivered double-digit revenue and operating income growth," the company said. "Europe's revenues rose 23% (11% in constant currencies) during the quarter to nearly $2.4 billion, fueled by an 11.1% comparable sales increase – the highest in the segment's history."

Meanwhile, the U.S. business saw comparable sales rise 2.9% and operating income jump 5.9%. Weak consumer spending is hurting the chain, though, as March comparable sales were negative. The Illinois company, however, expects sales to rebound in April to a 2% to 2.5% gain.

Let's not forget about the coffee strategy, AKA "The Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) Killer." That's been a strong driver for breakfast traffic and should continue to do so for some time.

"Over the next 12 to 18 months, we're going to see coffee as a catalyst for sales," Thrivent Asset Management analyst Chris Scheurer told Bloomberg News.

This underscores why now is a good time for the great taste of McDonald's.