• September 12, 2011

McDonald's logged its 100th consecutive month of delivering increases in global comparable-store sales in August, although comp-store sales growth slowed somewhat.

Globally, comparable sales gained 3.5%.  U.S. comp sales rose 3.9%, but missed analysts' growth expectations of 4.4%, likely reflecting the effects of Hurricane Irene.

Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region comp sales declined 0.3%, as sales in Japan continued to suffer as the nation continues its struggle to recover from the tsunami, offsetting growth in other countries within the region. European same-store sales grew 2.7%, but analysts had expected 5.57%, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Global, systemwide sales increased 11.3% (5.4% in constant currencies) for the month.

For the first eight months, McDonald's global comp sales are up 4.7% (compared to 4.9% for the same period in 2010). Comp sales in the U.S. are up 3.9% (ahead of last year's 3.3% at this time), Europe's are up 5.3% (also ahead of last year), but APEMA's are up just 3.5% (vs. 6.2% for same period last year). Systemwide sales are up 11.6%.