All Day Breakfast Appears to Be Working for McDonald's

OAK BROOK, Ill. — McDonald's Corp.'s decision to roll out all-day breakfast is helping the fast-food chain's turnaround efforts.

According to USA Today, the company beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations, further proof that its strategy — which went national in October — is paying off. The company credits all-day breakfast with helping send sales at U.S. restaurants open at least a year up 5.7 percent in the quarter ended Dec 31. 

This marks the second quarter in a row of same-store sales growth in the United States after seven quarters of decline.

McDonald's also benefited in the fourth quarter from improved efficiencies such as faster drive-thru times, said Jack Russo, consumer staples analyst with Edward Jones. 

On a call with investors, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook said customer feedback regarding measures such as food quality and friendliness have been improving, but McDonald's needs to work harder to win back customers and "increase frequency of visits," the USA Today report cited.

The highly anticipated rollout of McDonald's all-day breakfast menu last year seems to be helping, leading existing customers to up their orders and drawing in customers "who otherwise would have gone elsewhere," Easterbrook said. "All-day breakfast positions us to regain market share we've given up in recent years."

The Oak Brook-based chain also saw a lift from the mild weather at the end of 2015.