October 28, 2024 – 4:31 AM PDT
(Reuters) – McDonald’s (MCD.N) investors will look for signs of near-term sales disruption from the recent E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder hamburgers when it reports third-quarter results on Tuesday.
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Last week’s outbreak has killed at least one person, while the number of infections have risen to 75, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Since then, the shares of McDonald’s have dropped nearly 7%.
“We are concerned that reports of an E. coli outbreak … could pose a major threat to consumer sentiment and McDonald’s U.S. comparable sales,” Baird analyst David Tarantino wrote in a note last week.
The brokerage downgraded the stock to “neutral”, saying the fallout will depend on how long the issue takes to resolve and the media…
