McDonald's tops on Dec. sales

The No. 1 burger joint said Q4 EPS climbed 4% to $1.38, beating views by 5 cents. Sales rose 2% to $6.95 bil, above estimates for $6.89 bil. Same-restaurant sales rose 0.1%. In the U.S., same-store sales climbed 0.3%. In Europe same-restaurants, sales fell 0.6%. In Oct., McDonald's (MCD) reported its first monthly sales drop in nearly 10 years, but Dec. sales rose 0.9%, above expectations. The company sees global same-restaurant sales falling in Jan. as its faces steep competition from Burger King (BKW) and Yum's (YUM) Taco Bell. McDonald's shares rose 0.6% to 93.48.