McDonald's said its fourth-quarter earnings would be below current forecasts before restructuring charges and that comparable sales in the quarter are trending down.
Including charges of about $390 million, the company said it expects a loss of 5 cents to 6 cents a share. Global sales were $37.9 billion for the first 11 months of the year, up 2 per cent in constant currencies, McDonald's said.
McDonald's, which has reported lower earnings in seven of the last eight of its earnings periods, was expected to earn 31 cents a share on average in the fourth quarter, according to recently lowered analysts' forecasts tracked by Thomson First Call.