(By Balachander S) McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) shares shed 2.11 percent in premarket trading on Friday after the fast food chain reported lower quarterly earnings that trailed Wall Street projections amid flat revenue.
"We expect near-term top- and bottom-line growth to remain pressured as we focus on driving guest traffic and market share by leveraging our strategies and competitive advantages in response to the global economic, operating and competitive challenges," the company said.
Excluding currency translation, earnings per share (EPS) declined to $1.43 from $1.45, missing market expectations of $1.48. Net earnings were $1.45 billion, compared with $1.51 billion in the same period of last year.
Sales were $7.15 billion, flat with last year and in-line with consenus estimates. Excluding currency translation, top-line grew 4 percent.
Global comparable sales registered a 1.9 percent gain, with the U.S. posting 1.2 percent comps growth. Comparable sales at Europe and Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa's (APMEA) increased 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
McDonald's said comparable sales for the month of October are currently trending negative.
The stock, which has been trading between $85.92 and $102.22 over the past year, ended Thursday's regular trading at $95.86.