McDonald's U.S. comparable sales fell 1.

4% in full-year 2024 — the worst annual performance since the pandemic. The stock dropped 5% on the report. That 1.

4% number — not revenue, not earnings, not margins — was what moved the stock. In consumer-facing businesses, comparable sales (same-store sales) is the vital sign that Wall Street watches above all else. It tells you whether existing customers are spending more or less — stripped of the noise from new store openings.

A retailer can grow total revenue 10% by opening new stores while comps are negative — meaning each individual store is dying. Comps separate real demand growth from unit growth, and for consumer companies, it's the metric that separates the winners from the walking dead. Source: McDonald's Q4 2024 earnings release, February 2025.

Comps break into two sub-drivers: traffic and ticket. Rising traffic with stable ticket = genuine demand growth (more customers, same spending) — the healthiest signal.