McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) Q1 2016 Profit Expected To Rise, Revenue Projected To Drop

American fast-food giant McDonald’s will report its first-quarter earnings Friday. The world’s largest fast-food chain, whose sales benefited in the past two quarters by the launch of its all-day breakfast menu, is expected to report earnings of $1.16 per share in the three-month period ending March 31, up from $1.01 per share it reported in the same period last year.

The company’s pretax profits are also expected to jump 21 percent to $1.52 billion in the first quarter of 2016 from $1.25 billion in the year-earlier period.

However, revenue is forecast to decline slightly to $5.82 billion from $5.96 billion. The expected drop in revenue can largely be attributed to currency fluctuations, with a strong dollar hurting McDonald’s overseas revenue. For instance, in the last quarter, the company posted a 3.5 percent drop in sales when currency fluctuations were taken into account.

“Foreign currency translation had a negative impact on consolidated operating results in each of the last three years. In 2015, results were negatively impacted by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the euro, Australian dollar, Russian ruble and most other currencies,” McDonald’s said in a statement released in December.

On Thursday, McDonald’s shares closed down 2.1 percent. However, so far this year, the company’s shares have risen 5.4 percent, outperforming the broader market index, which has risen 2.1 percent.