Blue-chip burger baron McDonald's (MCD) was in focus Monday morning after the company unveiled its fourth-quarter earnings. The fast-food chain reported net income of $1.24 billion, or $1.16 per share, slightly improved from its year-ago profit of $1.22 billion, or $1.11 per share. Revenue for the quarter climbed 4% to $6.21 billion.

The fourth-quarter results were more or less in line with Wall Street's expectations, but the same can't be said of its December sales. Global same-store sales rose 3.7% across the board, led by an 8.9% gain in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA). U.S. same-store sales increased 2.6% in December, while sales at restaurants open at least 13 months declined 0.5% in Europe.

A parade of retailers have stepped up Thursday morning to unveil their December sales results, including The Gap Inc. (GPS). The jeans giant confessed to an unexpected 3% decline in same-store sales for the month, falling well short of analysts' expectations for an increase of 2.6%.

Gap North America was hit hardest, with same-store sales tumbling 8% for the month. The only business segment to record a gain for December was Banana Republic North America, as same-store sales improved 1%.

Drugstore chain Rite Aid (RAD) reported Monday that its same-store sales fell 1.8% in December, marking the seventh consecutive month of declines. Same-store front-end sales dropped 2.3% for the period ended Dec. 26, while pharmacy sales contracted by 1.5%. Total sales pulled back 3% to $2.09 billion.

Pharmacy sales had been fairly resilient of late, but the decline in the most recent month was attributed to the introduction of a growing number of generic drugs. Additionally, the number of prescriptions filled on a same-store basis dropped by 0.2%.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) reported lower Q1 earnings that still beat analysts' expectations.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) reported unimpressive Q3 results but shares rose anyway.
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) warned of lower Q4 earnings due to lower oil prices and narrow margins.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) Q3 earnings tumbled on on restructuring costs and weaker sales.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) topped Q1 earnings expectations as consumers seek bargains.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) lowered its Q4 revenue guidance once more due to lower demand.
• LDK Solar Co. (NYSE: LDK) cut its Q4 revenue outlook as clients asked for delayed shipments.
• Manitowoc Co. (NYSE: MTW) said profit will likely come in at the low end of its previous guidance range.
• Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) reported strong Q1 numbers and raised its full-year guidance.
• Neogen Corp. (NASDAQ: NEOG) posted its 63rd-consecutive profitable quarter, helped by an acquisition.
• Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (NASDAQ: RMCF) posted dismal Q3 numbers on economic downturn.
• Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) higher-than-expected December sales prompted raised guidance.
• Supervalu Inc. (NYSE: SVU) reported a Q3 loss because of hefty one-time charges, but topped estimates.
• Walmart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) cut its Q4 forecast after lower-than-expected December sales.
• Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) forecast lower-than-expected Q4 earnings on weak December sales.

For more earnings highlights, see Time Warner, Satyam, Google, KB Home, Mosaic and others

Upcoming earnings releases include Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY), Linear Technologies (NASDAQ: LLTC) , Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX), Genentech (NYSE: DNA), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Marshall & Ilsley (NYSE: MI), Sealy (NYSE: ZZ), Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported a December sales gain of 2.4% this morning, which topped analyst estimates and probably caused some industry pundits wonder if December holiday retail sales were all that bad after all.

Did U.S. consumers tighten their wallets and purses and pursue only the bare bones bargains in December? Wal-Mart's sales growth last month would seem to indicate that. After all, no matter what image the world's largest retailer tries to create, it's still the "Always Low Prices" moniker that customers remember when those money clips and coin purses find themselves bare.

Wal-Mart's 2.4% gain in December was driven by sales of food, prescription drugs and consumer electronics. Naturally, electronics sales in December is to be expected. The 2.4% figure did beat analyst estimated of 1.8% and fell inline with Wal-Mart's rather wide 1% to 3% sales gain projection. Although measurement firm Retail Metrics called holiday sales "listless" outside of Black Friday and the actual week before Christmas, it could be said that Wal-Mart's 15,000 item price reduction before the Thanksgiving holiday may have helped it stave off sales growth weakness during the first three weeks of December.

After all, MasterCard Advisors said that "people waiting for discounts" helped many retailer experience sales sluggishness in December, while consulting firm A.T. Kearney said "Retailers have created a bunch of procrastinators waiting for the markdowns they knew were going to come, and they ended up buying at lower margins." At Wal-Mart, those markdowns were already in place before the competition could respond -- and every day has urgency when it comes to December retail sales.