McDonald's Stock Halted; Company Not Pursuing REIT, Betting On Refranchising

Shares of McDonald's Corporation MCD were halted on Tuesday’s afternoon trading session, ahead of the company’s investor meeting, which would be held at 1:15 p.m. ET.

News regarding the reason why the shares were halted are yet to be released. However, some investors are assuming it has something to do with what CEO Steve Easterbrook will say about the company’s “strategic focus” during the call.

Update

AdAge Food/Restaurant Reporter Jessica Wohl was present at the investor meeting, tweeting some highlights, among which we can count:

McDonald's is panning to refranchise 4,000 restaurants by 2018. Prior guidance aimed at refranchising only 3,500 stores.

The company will not pursue a REIT for now; management believes this is best for shareholders.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.