Dead People Can't Buy Big Macs

Apparently ongoing military conflicts makes it hard to sell increasingly expensive fast food:

McDonald’s said growing tensions in the Middle East have hurt its business.

The burger chain, reporting growing overall sales and earnings for fourth quarter, noted that the overseas tensions were weighing on the region’s sales, and the company is monitoring the evolving situation.

The Middle East doesn’t make up a huge part of its overall business. McDonald’s for the most part licenses its brand to independent companies in the region, and McDonald’s said it provided some financial assistance in the form of royalty relief or deferred cash collection.

McDonald’s noted that it provided an insignificant amount of financial assistance for franchisees impacted by the war in the Middle East. But sales in its licensed markets business, of which most Middle East companies are a part, grew just 0.7% in the last quarter, as a result of the tensions. That was far worse than the more-than 4% growth in the United States and other international businesses.

A year ago, the licensed markets business was its best-performing unit, with more than 16% sales growth.

Overall, global sales at McDonald’s locations open at least a year grew 3.4% in the fourth quarter, less then analysts expected, as protests against the company in the Middle East took its toll. That also dented its revenue, which rose to $6.41 billion but also came in slightly below expectations.

FYI; McDonald's isn't exactly clean: