McDonald’s Cruises Past Estimates (MCD)

Fast food giant McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) better than matched expectations this morning when it reported fourth quarter and full-year results. For the quarter, the company posted EPS of $1.33 on revenue of $6.8 billion. The consensus estimates had called for EPS of $1.30 on revenue of $6.8 billion.

For 2012, the company plans to open another 1,300 stores as part of its planned $2.9 billion in capital spending. The new stores account for about half the spending, with the other half earmarked for “re-imaging” about 2,400 existing stores.

The company noted that same-store sales in the US were the highest since 2006. Globally, same-store sales rose 5.6% for the year, and global revenues reached a record high of $27 billion.