McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) and Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) both released their latest earnings reports this morning. McDonald’s reported earnings of $1.40 per share, a 1% increase, on revenue of $7.18 billion for the quarter. Analysts had been expecting the fast food chain to report earnings of $1.44 per share on $7.28 billion in revenue.
Domino’s Pizza reported earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $450.46 million. Analysts had been expecting earnings per share of 66 cents on $442.13 million in revenue.
Breaking down McDonald’s earnings
McDonald’s reported relatively flat comparable store sales due to negative guest traffic and higher average checks. Consolidated revenues rose 1% as the fast food chain expanded, while consolidated operating income was also flat. U.S. comparable sales fell 1.5% year over year. European comparable sales fell 1%, while Asia / Pacific, Middle East and Africa comparable sales rose 1.1% after strong performance in China.
During the quarter, McDonald’s also returned $1.6 billion to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends.
Breaking down Domino’s Pizza’s earnings
Domino’s Pizza’s earnings per share grew 17.5% year over year, while revenues increased 8.8% because of higher revenues from its supply chain. Domestic same store sales increased 5.4%, while international same store sales grew 7.7%. This was the 82nd quarter in a row of growth in the pizza chain’s international segment. Domino’s added 133 stores during the quarter.
“The first half of 2014 has proven to be yet another positive story for our global brand and hardworking franchisees,” said J. Patrick Doyle, President and CEO of Domino’s, in a statement. “We are performing well in the U.S. and international markets by driving sales and building stores around the world. We also opened our 11,000th store this quarter, an important milestone for a growing brand.”
The pizza chain bought 687,750 shares back during the second quarter for about $49.9 million. Earlier this month, its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents. It will be paid on Sept. 30 to shareholders of record on Sept. 15.
As of June 15, Domino’s had $15.3 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, $1.52 billion in total debt and $57.9 million in credit available as part of its $100 million variable funding notes. Free cash flow from operations was $41.8 million in the first two fiscal quarters.
