McDonald’s first quarter sales boosted by higher prices

McDonald’s reported higher-than-expected sales in the first quarter as store traffic grew despite higher prices.

Global same-store sales rose 12.6% compared to the January-March period last year, the Chicago burger giant said Tuesday. That was well above the 8.7% increase that Wall Street had been forecasting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Marketing campaigns — including a Valentine’s Day meal promotion with rappers Offset and Cardi B — and higher delivery sales boosted the chain’s U.S. performance. The company also raised prices on some items to account for inflated costs for food and paper.

McDonald’s said earlier this year that higher prices seem to be having little impact on demand. Some lower-income customers are ordering cheaper items or including less in each order, but they are coming in more often.

Revenue rose 4% to nearly $5.9 billion in the first quarter, which also topped analyst projections of $5.6 billion.

Despite the super-sized results, McDonald’s laid off several hundred corporate workers earlier this month in an effort to speed up innovation and decision-making. McDonald’s booked a restructuring charge of $180 million — or 18 cents per share — during the first quarter to account for severance payments and the closure of some regional offices.

Without that one-time charge, McDonald’s earned $2.63 per share, which is 30 cents better than expected.

McDonald’s shares rose less than 1% in premarket trading.