从前的功臣，今日的拖累，麦当劳转型遇阻

由于消费者不愿接受更高价的食品，麦当劳本周二公布的美国市场销售增长数字低于预期，市场担忧麦当劳自夸的转型或无疾而终。

尽管推出了早餐菜单全天享用等活动，麦当劳的美国市场销售业绩仍连续第二个季度令人失望。截至6月30日的第二季度，麦当劳的同店销售额（开业至少13个月的门店销售额）增长1.8%，远低于Consensus Matrix公司调研分析师的平均预期3.6%。麦当劳股价最近触及历史高位，但周二早盘跌逾3%。

麦当劳发布声明称，“在多个重要市场均面临巨大挑战。”

美国是麦当劳最大的市场，销售额占总额近40%。华尔街分析师预计，麦当劳一直面临顾客减少的问题。此外，麦当劳也在努力引导顾客放弃过去的“一美元菜单”。麦当劳的高管说，过于强调平价餐食会伤害公司品牌，而且转型推出优质产品时阻力很大。

加拿大皇家银行分析师大卫·帕尔默在报告中指出：“（麦当劳的）人流量可能仍然会是负增长，今后还会继续受‘一美元菜单后遗症’困扰，因为按照人们印象中麦当劳的质量水准，新推出的高端产品售价或许太高了。”但他也提到，麦当劳的2美元McPick多选二优惠组合是提振销售和盈利的重要动力。

尽管挑战多多，麦当劳在美国的同店销售额在下滑两年后还是实现连续四个季度增长。麦当劳首席执行官史蒂夫·伊斯特布鲁克表示，公司已经尽力精简菜单，剔除了不受欢迎和拖累厨房速度的食品。伊斯特布鲁克去年10月在美国启动早餐全天享用项目，终于回应了一些忠实客户多年来的呼声。去年末麦当劳还推出McPick多选二套餐，顾客只需花2美元就可以从双层牛肉汉堡、麦香鸡汉堡等餐点中挑选两种。

全球市场方面，由于英国、加拿大、澳大利亚和德国的销售增长强劲，麦当劳国际领先市场（麦当劳将澳大利亚、加拿大、法国、德国和英国划归此类市场——译注）二季度的同店销售额增长2.6%。截至6月30日，麦当劳当季净利润下降9.1%至10.9亿美元，或每股1.25美元。当季总营业收入下降3.5%至62.7亿美元，与汤森路透I/B/E/S的分析师预测均值一致。一次性项目除外，麦当劳当季每股收益1.45美元，高于每股1.38美元的预测均值。 （财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

审校：夏林

McDonald’s reported slower-than-expected U.S. sales growth on Tuesday, hurt by customer reluctance to embrace its pricier items, stoking fears the burger chain’s vaunted turnaround has stalled.

It was the second quarter in a row of disappointed sales growth in the United States despite initiatives like its all-day breakfast menu. McDonald’s comparable sales (sales at restaurants open at least 13 months) rose 1.8% in the quarter ended June 30, well below the 3.6% clip analysts were expecting, according to Consensus Matrix. McDonald’s shares, which recently were trading at all-time highs, fell more than 3% in early trading.

McDonald’s said in a statement it faced “a challenging environment in several key markets.”

And in the U.S., its largest market, generating nearly 40% of sales, Wall Street analysts said McDonald’s continued to grapple with shrinking numbers of visitors. What’s more, McDonald’s has been trying to wean customers off of its former Dollar Menu, which executives have said hurt its brand and made it harder to charge more for the better products it has introduced.

“Traffic likely remains negative and the chain continues to wrestle with “Dollar Menu hangover” as prices for its premium items are perhaps too high for their perceived quality,” RBC David Palmer said in a note, though he noted that the “McPick 2 for $5” has been an important source of sales and margin improvements.

Still, it was the fourth straight quarter of comparable sales increases in the U.S. for McDonald’s after what had been two years of declines. On the watch of CEO Steve Easterbrook, McDonald’s has sought to simplify its menu, shedding items that were either unpopular or slowed down the process in the kitchen. Easterbrook brought back All-Day Breakfast in the U.S. in October, finally yielding to what McDonald’s loyalists had been clamoring for for years. McDonald’s also introduced McPick 2 late last year; customers can pay $2 for two items among a selection of the McDouble and McChicken sandwiches, and other items.

Internationally, comparable sales for the International Lead segment rose 2.6% for the quarter, led by gains in Britain, Canada, Australia, and Germany. Net income fell 9.1% to $1.09 billion, or $1.25 per share, in the quarter ended June 30. Total revenue declined 3.5% percent to $6.27 billion, in line with the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Excluding some one-time items, McDonald’s earned $1.45 per share, topping the average estimate of $1.38.