Fast food giant McDonald's announced a decline in its fourth-quarter earnings on Monday due to lower sales in the US market.
From October to December 2024, the company's revenue dropped to $6.39 billion from $6.41 billion in the same period last year.
In the US, sales fell by 1.4%, reflecting "a decrease in the average transaction size, partially offset by a slight increase in customer numbers," the company stated in a press release.
McDonald's net profit decreased by 1% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year, reaching $2.02 billion.
During the last months of 2024, McDonald's faced an outbreak of Escherichia coli bacteria, which resulted in 90 people falling ill across 13 US states. An elderly person passed away in Colorado. According to US health authorities, sliced onions provided by subcontractor Taylor Farms, used by the fast-food chain, were the source of the infections.
Conversely, the company saw a 4.1% increase in quarterly revenue in its licensed international markets, driven by strong performance in the Middle East and Japan.
The fast food giant had become the target of boycott calls in the Middle East after its Israeli franchise announced in November that it would provide thousands of free meals to the Israeli army.
For the full year 2024, the group's revenue reached $25.92 billion, up by 2%, while its net profit fell by 3% to $8.22 billion, following a surge the previous year.
