McDonald's: The Hamburger Economy Lives On (MCD)

Wall St. would think that with 36,000 stores worldwide that McDonald’s sales would begin to slow. But, McDonald’s is not Wal-Mart. Same-store sales at the big food chain rose October same-store sales rose 5.5%.McDonald’s is as bright as a new penny. Its “Monopoly” game promotion, based on the popular board game, brought people through the doors, hoping to win some of the money that McDonald’s will give away as part of the program. Who cares about trans-fats when you can win big money.The food chain continues to master the market with both promotions and menu changes. The company’s new, inexpensive Snack Wraps helped drive sales in October.In an economy where people worry about their home prices, overseas wars, and nut-ball politicians, there is still McDonald’s–a good, cheap meal and a chance to win $1 million bucks on a game promotion.Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.