UPDATE: McDonald's Posts Drop In Q4 Profit

reported a drop in its profit and revenue for the fourth quarter. The Oak Brook, Illinois-based company posted quarterly earnings of $1.1 billion, or $1.13 per share, compared to $1.4 billion, or $1.40 per share in the year-ago quarter. The latest quarter earnings included a negative impact of $0.09 per share due to the supplier issue in APMEA. The latest quarter also included a negative impact of $0.04 per share due to an increase in reserves related to certain foreign tax matters. Its revenue slipped 7% to $6.57 billion, while revenue shrank 1% in constant currencies. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.22 per share on revenue of $6.69 billion. McDonald's global same-store sales dropped 0.9% y/y, while same-store sales in the US declined 1.7%. Analysts were expecting a 1.6% decline in global same-store sales and a 2% drop in US same-store sales. Europe's fourth quarter comparable sales slipped 1.1%, while APMEA's comparable sales dropped 4.8% in the quarter. McDonald's returned $1.8 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. "2014 was a challenging year for McDonald's around the world. Our results declined as unforeseen events and weak operating performance pressured results in each of our geographic segments," said McDonald's President and Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson McDonald's shares gained 0.42% to $91.27 in pre-market trading.