10:44 AM EDT, 08/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- McDonald's (MCD) reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results on Wednesday as comparable sales rebounded amid value offerings and menu innovations.

The fast-food heavyweight's adjusted per-share earnings rose to $3.19 from $2.97 a year earlier, ahead of the FactSet-polled consensus of $3.14. Revenue grew 5% to $6.84 billion, while analysts expected $6.7 billion.

Comparable sales increased 3.8%, rebounding from a 1% drop in the prior-year quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet projected the metric to rise by 2.6%. The company's shares were up 2.6% intraday.

"Despite a challenging backdrop for the industry and this landscape, the power of McDonald's value and affordability platforms, exciting marketing and menu offerings, and world-class execution are working together to drive comparable sales results and guest count growth, as we also accelerate new restaurant development," Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski said at an earnings call with analysts, according to a FactSet transcript.

US same-store sales grew 2.5%, compared with the prior-year quarter's 0.7% decline. In the US, "the $5 meal deal continues to resonate with consumers as we recently celebrated the one year anniversary of the program," Kempczinski said on the call.

US growth came even as traffic in the quick service restaurant industry "remained challenging," particularly because of reduced visits by low-income consumers, Kempczinski told analysts.

"Reengaging the low income consumer is critical, as they typically visit our restaurants more frequently than middle and high income consumers," he said. "This bifurcated consumer base is why we remain cautious about the overall near-term health of the US consumer."

Comparable sales in international operated markets climbed 4%, reflecting growth in all markets.

"Despite continued high inflation across most of Europe, our (international operated) markets are being prudent about pricing actions, knowing the continued challenging environment for many of our consumers," Kempczinski said.

McDonald's continues to target a full-year adjusted operating margin in the mid- to high-40% range, which takes into the expected impact from tariffs currently in place, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said.

"The headwinds facing our business and consumers in the US and our top international markets remain largely the same, while cost pressures in some markets, most notably in Europe, have become more challenging," he told analysts on the call.

The company now expects foreign currency to be a tailwind of about $0.15 a share on full-year adjusted EPS, compared with its previous estimate of a $0.05 tailwind, Borden said.

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