The following is a summary of the McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript:

Financial Performance:

McDonald’s Corporation reported 2023 global comp sales growth of 9% and comp guest count performance of nearly 3%, maintaining market leadership in most significant markets.
Q4 comp sales performance exceeded 4% in both the U.S. and IOM segments, and over 3% globally, despite Middle East conflicts impacting specific segments.
Q4 adjusted earnings per share were $2.95, an 11% increase in constant currencies from the previous year, excluding a nearly $140 million charge for impaired software write-offs and growth strategy costs.
Full year adjusted operation margin was just over 47%, producing $14 billion in restaurant margin, a rise of around 10% in constant currency.
The corporation invested about $2.4 billion in capital expenditure, with over half dedicated to new unit development, and a free cash flow conversion nearing the 90% range.

Business Progress:

McDonald’s expanded its loyalty program to 50 global markets and grew the McCrispy chicken sandwich to a $1 billion brand across over 30 global markets.
The company’s new strategy, Accelerating the Arches, resulted in a 30% comparable sales growth since 2019 and plans to expand the Ready on Arrival feature to the top six markets by 2025. The company aims to reach 250 million active users and $45 billion in annual loyalty system-wide sales by 2027.
McDonald’s witnessed high customer satisfaction globally and improved service times under the Performance and Customer Excellence (PACE) program, reporting a 10-second improvement in service times globally in Q4.
McDonald’s launched popular campaigns like MONOPOLY in Canada, acquiring approximately 700,000 new app customers in five weeks.
The corporation plans to open more than 2,100 restaurants globally in 2024, making progress towards the target of 50,000 restaurants by 2027, and expects the 2024 company-operated margin percent to be roughly the same as the 2023 figure. It sees potential to drive margin leverage despite anticipated inflationary pressures.