McDonald's move into mochas and iced lattes has helped the fast food chain report its seventh consecutive month of increases in global sales this year, underscoring the resilience of its business model in the recession.
The company's shares rose 1.7 per cent in midday trading yesterday to $56.16 after it said comparable stores sales rose 4.3 per cent in July, down from an increase of 8 per cent a year earlier but beating analysts' consensus expectations of a 3.2 per cent increase and ahead of June's 2.6 per cent rise.
Jason West, analyst at Deutsche Bank, said the global sales increase alleviated concern about a possible “downward spiral” in comparable sales, as had been seen at competitors like Burger King.