Benzinga | Jan 26, 2022 10:06AM EST

McDonald's's Earnings: A Preview

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) is set to give its latest quarterly earnings report on Thursday, 2022-01-27. Here's what investors need to know before the announcement.

Analysts estimate that McDonald's will likely report an Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $2.34.

McDonald's bulls will hope to hear the company to announce they've not only beaten that estimate, but also to provide positive guidance, or forecasted growth, for the next quarter.

New investors should note that it is sometimes not an earnings beat or miss that most affects the price of a stock, but the guidance (or forecast).

Past Earnings Performance

Last quarter the company beat EPS by $0.30, which was followed by a 1.14% increase in the share price the next day.

Here's a look at McDonald's's past performance and the resulting price change:

Quarter Q3 2021 Q2 2021 Q1 2021 Q4 2020EPS Estimate 2.46 2.08 1.81 1.78EPS Actual 2.76 2.37 1.92 1.70Price Change % 1.14% 0.93% 0.37% 0.49%

Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald's were trading at $250.68 as of January 25. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 22.32%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are likely bullish going into this earnings release.

To track all upcoming earnings announcements, click here to use Benzinga Earnings Calendar.