After More Than a Year of Hurtful Headlines, McDonald's to Stop Reporting Monthly Sales The chain has decided to stop disclosing its sales figures as frequently.
By Kate Taylor
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
After months of reporting declining sales, McDonald's has decided to simply keep its mouth shut.
Starting July 1, the fast-food chain will no long report sales on a monthly basis. The move is part of the company's plan to focus "activities and conversations" on longer-term actions.
"Disclosing comparable sales as part of our quarterly reporting is consistent with nearly all retailers and will provide a greater understanding of McDonald's sales results in the context of the Company's overall financial performance…and it will align with the our longer-term view of building shareholder value," CEO Steve Easterbrook said at the Sanford Bernstein analysts conference on Wednesday when the plan was announced.
Related: The CEO of Carl's Jr. Doesn't Care If You're Offended by the Chain's Sexy Ads
McDonald's global same-stores sales have been in decline for 11 straight months. In the company's last reported month, April, global same-store sales decreased 0.6 percent, while U.S. same-store sales fell 2.3 percent.
While McDonald's reasoning for going into stealth mode seems a bit sketchy, it is far from the only company to only report sales on a quarterly basis. Chipotle and Starbucks, two of investors' favorite chains, also only report sales every quarter.
Related: 5 Uncomfortable Questions Asked at McDonald's Company Shareholders' Meeting
