Adios my friends...

This has been an interesting project as I had read very few blogs and had never even considered blogging myself.  However, I'v enjoyed it (for the most part) and have learned several things along the way.  I hope that you have learned something yourself over the past 15 weeks.

If you remember from my first blog, I chose McDonald's because I had worked there through the summers of my undergrad days (over 16 years ago).  I enjoyed my summers at McDonald's and think I would enjoy working for the McDonald's Corporation now.  However, I say that as I am envisioning myself working in the corporate office, not in the restaurant itself as I do not think I would handle customer complaints as well as I used to.  It does however, appear to be a good company to work for, with good benefits and promotion opportunities, and it has definitely earned good profits of late.  For instance, if you had invested $1,000 in MCD stock on 9/1/10 you would have purchased 13 shares of stock as the 9/1 stock price was $74.54 per share.  As of today your stock would be worth $1,031.94 as MCD closed today at $79.38.

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

This gives you a net increase of $31.94 or a 3.194% return.  I would not be very happy with this return on investment as I could earn that in CDs.  However, MCD has paid high dividends to its' investors over the year and are expected to do so again at the end of 2010, so for a large stakeholder it will pay to own MCD stock.

Thanks for listening this semester.  I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  God Bless and good luck with your future studies.

Hmmm... Most Interesting Thing...

The most interesting thing I learned about McDonald's this semester is the fact that Mickey D's had acquired Donato's Pizza and Boston Market.  That's right, back in 1999 & 2000.  Now, mind you, they have since divested these acquisitions, but until this class I never knew they ever had attempted to diversify.  In case you missed it, you can see the complete information surrounding these acquisitions and divestitures by referring to my blog posting on October 16th.

The next most interesting thing I learned was how well the stock price has been performing in the past year.  Take today for instance, MCD closed today at $79.29 up $0.99 (or 1.26%).

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

One last JUST FOR FUN FACT:

If McDonald's meat quality is so high, why is it so cheap?

Because McDonald's serves so many people each day, it is able to buy in bulk and then pass along the value to you. This enables McDonald's to offer its' customers the best prices on the freshest, highest quality products.

http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/students/faq_for_students.html#11

Hope you enjoyed the fun facts.  I hope to post my final blog tomorrow!

Stock Price Update

MCD closed today at $78.26 up $0.33 (or 0.42%). 

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

Stay tuned for the final two Blog posts later this week!!!

Ronald McDonald House

McDonald's is known for their Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).  If you watch much TV at all, then you have probably seen the McDonald's ads for "Hope" and "Happy Meals."  McDonald's will make a one cent donation to RMHC for each Happy Meal or Mighty Kids Meal that is purchased throughout the year. 

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/promotions/mchappyday.html

While one cent may not sound like a lot, I can only imagine the number of Happy Meals that McDonald's sells in a year.  I have a feeling the one-cent donation will be considerable.

My family has personal experience with RMHC and only sings its' praises.  I have triplet nieces that were premature and had a long stay in the hospital.  Their parents were able to stay at a Ronald McDonald House next to the hospital in order to be close by their children without enduring large expenses.  I am happy to say the girls are now 10 years old and as happy and healthy as can be.  RMHC has definitely provided for a lot of families needs.

STOCK PRICE UPDATE: 

MCD closed today at $79.01 down $0.51 (or 0.64%).

http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AMCD

Stock Price Update

MCD closed Friday at $79.64 up $0.62 (or 0.78%).  MCD continues to perfrom well.  Its' low for this 52-week period was $60.04, which occurred in December 2009.  What a difference a year can make.

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

McDonald's Culture and Culture in general

The McDonald's culture could probably be best summed up in the words of McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc.

“If I had a brick for every time I’ve repeated the phrase Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value, I think I’d probably be able to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with them.” —Ray Kroc

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_history/the_ray_kroc_story.html

Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Value continue to be the mantra used by McDonald's and its' employees even today.  All decisions and policies are made with this in mind.  This corporate culture is maintained by its' different restaurants regardless of the country in which it is located.

While McDonald's is known for its' standardized food and service, it also must cater to the different cultures in the many different nations it has stores.  So, it has to adapt menus accordingly, but it still continues to follow the "Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Value" plan.  For instance, in India Mickey D's does not serve pork or beef, so it greatly expanded its' vegetarian menu.  Additionally, McDonald's has made adjustments for other cultures as well to ensure it pleases the local consumer and maintains a loyal customer base all the while maintaining its' service and value.

 http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/130910/india___vegetables_for_mcdonalds_.aspx

While MCD took a hit on the stock price today closing at $77.42 (down $1.65), it is still performing very well overall proving that its' corporate culture is working. 

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

October Sales Figures

McDonald's posted another good sales month.  The month of October showed global comparable sales growth of 6.5%.  Performance by segment was as follows:

U.S. up 5.6%

Europe up 5.8%

Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa up 5.3%

http://phoenix.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97876&p=irol-newsarticle&ID=1493057

These strong sales numbers only improved the stock price as MCD closed today at $79.70 which is up $0.20 (or 0.25%).

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd