McDonald’s Profits Plunge, Company Speculates Reasons
McDonalds’ profits are dropping, not by much, but it’s enough to make the company wonder why. When it comes to fast food, “Micky D’s” is usually the first thing we as U.S. consumers think of, yet we aren’t spending as much this year as we did before.
Some claim that the unrelenting winter storms were to blame for the decline in sales, as more Americans were forced just avoid the drive-thru, but that never affected sales as much as they did this year.
After a fall of 1.5 percent in overall sales for the first quarter of 2014, CEO Don Thompson doesn’t fully believe it was the weather which kept the U.S. consumer base from venturing out for fast food. It was believed to possibly be a simple drop in customer service and food quality, and may have been related to other recent news about the company.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, McDonald’s pulled the plug on a supplier who was discovered to be selling them expired meat. It is unclear if this had anything to do with the drop in McDonald’s profits.
One solution they attempted was to push their employees to speed up service and keep it friendly, while maintaining a higher quality of products. Thompson stated:
“In the near term, we are prioritizing our efforts around those elements of the restaurant experience that are most impactful – offering the best food and beverage options and delivering outstanding service. We are intent on pursuing initiatives that will strengthen our relationship with our customers to reignite our business momentum.”
This could be why there was a strike over McDonald’s wages. Most people want to be paid more to work harder.
The expected results according to analysts was $1.43 per share, but the company was only able to get $1.40 per share for first quarter 2014. So what could have caused the loss in money from in-store customers?
#McDonalds Sees Profits Slip Again, #AtlanticCity #Casino #Robbed, #mcorner http://t.co/pWTnwLjkQp
— Millionaire Corner (@MillionCorner) July 22, 2014
Some believe it may have to do with health concerns, as more and more people in the U.S. may be discovering a better quality of life by skipping fast food and shopping organic food stores like Trader Joe’s. It could even be the economy in general, but as the global McDonald’s profits stayed level, it was only the U.S. which experienced a decline. The economy problem is worldwide, but McDonald’s is doing fine everywhere else. Even other restaurants weren’t noticing the same performance drop.
What do you think caused McDonald’s profits to fall in early 2014?
[image via liberalamerica]
