--- description: Restaurant chain reports a sharp drop in domestic same-store sales for February title: McDonald’s Sales Still Down As a New CEO Takes the Helm image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5426a7b8a4f5ffc/698782bf0b72e334a86de123/mcdonalds-sales.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Brands](/tag/brands/) ## Brands Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # McDonald’s February Sales Decline as New CEO Takes Helm by [John Kell / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## John Kell / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 9, 2015 2:53 PM CUT  NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: Cars move past a McDonald's in lower Manhattan on February 9, 2015 in New York City. McDonald's Corporation has said sales in January fell a worse-than-expected 1.8%. While the fast-food restaurant chain said U.S. and Europe sales showed signs of improvement, Asia sales slowed. McDonald's is facing new completion from trendier and more health conscious fast food chains like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Shake Shack. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: Cars move past a McDonald's in lower Manhattan on February 9, 2015 in New York City. McDonald's Corporation has said sales in January fell a worse-than-expected 1.8%. While the fast-food restaurant chain said U.S. and Europe sales showed signs of improvement, Asia sales slowed. McDonald's is facing new completion from trendier and more health conscious fast food chains like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Shake Shack. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Spencer Platt—Getty Images by [John Kell / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## John Kell / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 9, 2015 2:53 PM CUT McDonald’s may have a new CEO, but the fast-food chain’s U.S. sales woes remain firmly in place. The restaurant chain on Monday reported a sharp [4% drop in domestic same-store sales](http://mcdonalds.q4web.com/financial-news-release/news-release-details/2015/McDonalds-Reports-Global-Comparable-Sales-For-February/default.aspx "undefined") for February, badly underperforming the 0.7% drop expected by analysts. The decline was due to “ongoing aggressive competitive activity,” according to McDonald’s. McDonald’s has reported [weak results at home for over a year](http://fortune.com/2015/01/23/mcdonalds-us-sales-slide/ "undefined"), hurt by changing preferences as so-called fast-casual chains that churn out healthier meals quickly for just a few bucks more than what McDonald’s charges have taken some of the fast-food giant’s business. The company has a [new CEO](http://fortune.com/2015/01/28/mcdonalds-ceo-out/ "undefined"), Steve Easterbrook, who took over the reigns after a relatively short tenure by Don Thompson. The weak February sales signal that challenges that lie ahead for Easterbrook. McDonald’s has faced calls that the company’s board also needs a shake up, and the company is moving to improve its image by taking high-profile steps, including only serving [antibiotic-free chicken](http://fortune.com/2015/03/04/mcdonalds-chicken-antibiotics/ "undefined"), and later this year using [milk from cows](http://fortune.com/2015/03/04/mcdonalds-radical-new-plan/ "undefined") not treated with an artificial growth hormone. Overall, McDonald’s same-store sales slid 1.7% across the entire corporation, worse than the 0.3% drop projected by analysts surveyed by Consensus Metrix. Same-store sales slipped 4.4% in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region but rose 0.7% in Europe. _This_ [_article_](http://www.fortune.com/2015/03/09/mcdonalds-february-sales-drop/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Fortune.com_](http://www.fortune.com "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3737224/mcdonalds-sales-still-down-as-new-ceo-takes-helm/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3737224/mcdonalds-sales-still-down-as-new-ceo-takes-helm/"},"headline":"McDonald’s February Sales Decline as New CEO Takes Helm","datePublished":"2015-03-09T14:53:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:00:47.218Z","description":"Restaurant chain reports a sharp drop in domestic same-store sales for February","url":"https://time.com/3737224/mcdonalds-sales-still-down-as-new-ceo-takes-helm/","keywords":["Brands","Mcdonald's"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5426a7b8a4f5ffc/698782bf0b72e334a86de123/mcdonalds-sales.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"John Kell / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5426a7b8a4f5ffc/698782bf0b72e334a86de123/mcdonalds-sales.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cars move past a McDonald's in lower Manhattan on February 9, 2015 in New York City.","caption":"Cars move past a McDonald's in lower Manhattan on February 9, 2015 in New York City.","creditText":"Spencer Platt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/brands/","name":"Brands"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3737224/mcdonalds-sales-still-down-as-new-ceo-takes-helm/","name":"McDonald’s February Sales Decline as New CEO Takes Helm"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Our food. 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