But it was more costly to operate in the pandemic. Over the past year, the company has deferred rent and royalties for franchisees and obtained hundreds of millions of masks for employees.
McDonald's said marketing spending was higher than usual in the fourth quarter because of the launch of a new ad campaign, and it has given local franchisees $200 million more than initially planned this year to help their marketing efforts. The company also said it faced higher-than-expected costs to close underperforming restaurants, including around 200 in the U.S.
The fast-food giant fell short of Wall Street's earnings and sales expectations for the fourth quarter. Revenue fell 2% to $5.3 billion, below analysts' forecast of $5.4 billion, according to FactSet.