McDonald’s posted a steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly global sales, hurt by muted demand across key markets, including Europe and the United States where it is expected to face more weakness as the burger giant reels from a deadly E. coli outbreak.
Shares of the company were down 2.4 percent before the bell on Tuesday even as it beat profit estimates.
Global sales fell 1.5 percent in the third quarter, the biggest decline in four years, compared with analysts’ average estimate of a 0.72 percent fall, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Last week, McDonald’s temporarily paused serving Quarter Pounders in a fifth of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants in an E. coli outbreak that has killed at least one person. Shares declined nearly 7 percent last week as infections rose to 75 people. Quarter Pounders were being added back to the menu this week….