Bargain Meals Boost McDonald's US Sales, but Food Scare Looms

McDonald's saw a small boost in US sales during the third quarter, thanks to bargain-hunting customers who snapped up their $5 value meals. The company's quick thinking after a lackluster second quarter helped them win back some customers who were feeling the pinch of rising prices. However, that good news might be short-lived. An E. coli outbreak linked to their Quarter Pounder burgers forced them to pull the item from menus at around 3, 000 stores. The crisis has left one person dead and many others sick across 13 states. The culprit? Raw onions from one of their suppliers. As McDonald's scrambles to fix the problem, it's unclear how much this will hurt their sales. Abroad, McDonald's also faced challenges. With China's economy slowing down, customers there chose cheaper options, leaving the company with weak sales in the country. The ongoing war in the Middle East didn't help either. Globally, their same-store sales fell by 1. 5%, which was worse than expected. Financially, McDonald's revenue rose slightly to $6. 87 billion, but their net income dropped by 3% to $2. 25 billion. Despite the challenges, they still managed to beat some Wall Street predictions.