McDonald’s turns to bacon and wins (surprise, surprise)

CHICAGO (AP) — McDonald’s turned to a sure thing in the first quarter, bacon, and it’s paying off.

The world’s biggest burger chain on Tuesday reported a first quarter profit of $1.33 billion, or $1.72 per share. Earnings, adjusted for pretax expenses, came to $1.78 per share, which is a nickel better than industry analysts had expected, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue at the Chicago company reached $4.96 billion, also edging out expectations.

At the beginning of the year, McDonald’s Corp. offered bacon on anything customers wanted for an hour and it generated both hype and store traffic.

Comparable sales jumped 5.4% globally across all segments during the quarter.

Shares of McDonald’s Corp. are up about 3% before the opening bell.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MCD at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MCD