McDonald's November Sales Disappoint, US Sales Unexpectedly Fall

McDonald's U.S. sales were down 0.8% in November, the company reported this morning. Analysts were expecting a 0.3% increase.

Global comparable sales were up 0.5%, narrowly missing expectations for 0.6%. The company beat expectations in Europe but disappointed in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East, and Africa largely due to weakness in Japan.

"Ongoing competitive activity and relatively flat industry traffic trends negatively impacted performance," the company said in a press release. "Looking ahead to 2014, the U.S. is intent on rebuilding its underlying business momentum by strengthening key elements of customer service and leveraging the breadth of menu choices across all dayparts and value tiers."

Here's the global breakdown of comparable store sales:

• Global sales rose 0.5%, (estimates were for +0.6%)
• U.S. sales fell 0.8% (estimates were for +0.3%)
• European sales jumped 1.9% (estimates were for +0.8%)
• Asia/Pacific, Middle East, and Africa sales dropped 2.3% (estimates were for -0.7%)
• Japan same-store sales fell 10.4%