UPDATE: McDonald's Shares Fall After Downbeat Q3 Sales

Shares of McDonald's

slipped around 2% in pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat Q3 sales. The company posted a quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.09 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.52 billion, or $1.52 per share. The latest quarter results included $0.42 per share in negative adjustments. Excluding one-time costs, the company earned $1.52 per share. Its revenue declined to $6.99 billion from $7.32 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.37 per share on revenue of $7.20 billion. Its global same-store sales dropped 3.3% in the quarter, while US sales slipped 3.3%. In September, US same-store sales dropped 4.1%, while European same-store sales slipped 4.2%. “McDonald's third quarter results reflect a significant decline versus a year ago, with our business and financial performance pressured by a variety of factors - from a higher effective tax rate, to unusual events in the operating environments in APMEA and Europe, to under-performance in the U.S., our largest geographic segment," said McDonald's President and Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson. "While our ability to withstand these factors is a testament to the Company's enduring brand and strong financial foundation, by all measures our performance fell short of our expectations." McDonald's shares fell 1.87% to $89.88 in pre-market trading.