Chicago Sun-Times:
The Oak Brook-based company, the world’s largest fast-food chain, was one of two Dow Jones industrial average companies to see its stock gain last year, rising by about 6 percent.
Retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s stock climbed 18 percent. The Dow lost 34 percent in 2008.
McDonald’s benefitted from an expanded menu, coffee drinks, and customers hunting for cheap eats, analysts said.
Outperforms fast-food rivals
“They’ve done a really good job of giving people reasons to visit more often,” said John Owens, senior equity analyst at Morningstar. “They’ve come out with a lot of exciting new products, and, for the most part, they’ve been hits.”The company has been pushing its premium coffee, specialty coffee drinks and chicken products.
As customers traded down from casual dining, McDonald’s performed better than others in the fast-food category, Owens said.
McDonald’s reported that its global sales increased 7.7 percent in November.