Is McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) new CEO finally turning this big ship around to get it back on track? If the recent quarterly report shows us anything, it's that there's still a chance he can salvage this mess.
McDonald's has suffered a lot of negative press over the years, but to shareholders, it's been everything they wanted and more. With a dividend yield of 3.5% and steady profits coming in, what's not to like? But starting near the end of 2013, McDonald's started sliding in U.S. comps. Then, on the back of a food scandal involving one of the fast-food giant's partners and a food scandal of the company's own, its comp sales in China, Japan and neighboring countries plummeted.
The company promised a turnaround, but for a long time didn't give concrete details on how that was going to happen. With the exit of former CEO Don Thompson and the entrance of the new guy, Steve Easterbrook, it seems as if things are finally starting to go right for the industry leader.
The report
For the first time in a while, investors were excited about what McDonald's had to share. Let's take a look at a comparison between the company's Q1 and Q2 reports:
