Everyone has a favorite place to eat away from home. It depends on many things how often you go there, but everyone has a favorite. Often times, a favorite is a fast-food place because they are easy to find and deliver a consistent meal. One of the reasons they are easy to find is the bigger fast-food companies have many franchises or operations.

In an article written by Savyata Mishra of Reuters, the biggest franchise company is McDonald’s. By 2027, they hope to have 50,000 restaurants around the world. Sales in the global department rose in the 4th quarter, aided by demand for its cheaper items and discounted offerings from diners in the Middle East, Japan and China.

Domestically in the US, McDonald’s sales were down 1.4%.

Value meals is helping McDonald’s recover traffic from the lower-income consumers, but will they drive stronger earnings in the long-term? wonders Northcoast Research analyst Jim Sanderson.

Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden says the fast-food industry overall still faces challenges with low-income consumers.

Quarterly adjusted earnings per share of $2.83 were in line with market expectations.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, often times the list of what companies to buy starts at what do you consume? then the homework begins, for example how many locations does it have? have you been to more than one? was it consistently good? who is the retailer aiming at? and the questions continue…

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.