megapanalo McDonald’s Seeks to Resolve E. Coli Crisis and Return Focus to Value
McDonald’s is aiming to move past the E. coli outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in recent weeksmegapanalo, projecting the food safety scare will not affect its full-year finances.
The company’s quarterly earnings results, released on Tuesday, did not reflect any fallout from the recent health crisis, which was linked to the chain’s popular Quarter Pounder burgers and had spread to 13 states. Health officials said the outbreak sickened 75 people and caused one death in Colorado.
McDonald’s executives told investors on a call Tuesday morning that they did not expect the episode, which started in late September, to have any “material” effect on the company’s 2024 earnings.
But they did acknowledge that public perception issues could linger; regaining trust around food safety and rebuilding momentum in its business could be a challenge, they said. Since the start of the E. coli outbreak, the company’s daily U.S. sales have fallen and fewer customers have visited its restaurants, Ian Borden, McDonald’s chief financial officer, told investors on Tuesday.
“We stand ready to do more, if we need to, to make sure that we are bringing the full resources of McDonald’s to bear to re-engage the customer,” Chris Kempczinski, the chain’s chairman and chief executive, said on the call.
Jeff Farmer, an analyst at Gordon Haskett Research Advisors, said in a research note that foot traffic at McDonald’s in the United States was down 9.5 percent late last week from year-ago levels. He added that states with more reported E. coli cases had greater declines: 33 percent in Colorado and 26 percent in Wyoming.
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