CHICAGO – McDonald's Corp. (MCD) on Tuesday said sales at its hamburger restaurants open at least 13 months rose 5.2 percent in January as strong sales in the United States and Europe helped it beat some analysts' expectations.
Four Wall Street analysts' estimates ranged between a rise of 1 percent and 4 percent, according to research reports.
The company said total sales rose 8.3 percent during January.
The world's largest fast-food chain said same-store sales (search), a key retail measure, rose 4.1 percent in the United States, its No. 1 market, and 5.4 percent in Europe, its No. 2 market.
The European results received a boost from the company's value menu in Germany, Chief Executive Jim Skinner (search) said in a statement.
Same-store sales rose 7.1 percent in the company's Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa division.
Shares of McDonald's rose 0.58 percent to $32.97 in before-the-bell trading on the Inet electronic brokerage system.
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