McDonald's Third Quarter Sales Increase with Snack Wraps

McDonald's Third Quarter Transaction Data

McDonald's experienced a significant increase in sales in the third quarter with the return of Snack Wrap products. During the July-September period, same-store sales at locations open for more than a year rose by 3.6%, slightly higher than the Wall Street estimate of 3.5%.

Same-store sales in the U.S. increased by 2.4% in the third quarter. The company announced on Wednesday that one of the key products contributing to this success, the Snack Wraps, made a comeback to the U.S. menu in July after a nine-year hiatus. According to data from a company called Placer.ai, traffic at McDonald's locations was 15% higher than average on the day Snack Wraps were launched.

At the beginning of September, McDonald's introduced Extra Value Menus in the U.S. aiming to attract price-sensitive fast food customers. As part of this campaign, a Big Mac meal was offered for $8 or a Sausage McMuffin meal for $5 for a limited time in most parts of the country. However, Placer.ai reported that this campaign did not achieve as high a traffic increase as the 50-cent double cheeseburger offered on National Cheeseburger Day on September 18.

The company's third quarter revenues reached $7.08 billion, an increase of 3%, in line with Wall Street expectations. McDonald's' net income rose by 1% to $2.28 billion. After accounting for one-time expenses and $39 million in restructuring costs, the company generated earnings of $3.22 per share. However, this figure was lower than analysts' forecast of $3.33.