The ratings on Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corp. reflect Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' expectation that the company will continue to perform strongly with profit growth from new restaurants and positive comparable-store sales. However, we do not anticipate credit metric enhancement given the expected returns to shareholders. Thus, we continue to assess McDonald's financial risk as "modest," as our criteria define the term. We assess McDonald's business risk as "strong," which reflects its global market position and the fact that it has consistently outperformed other quick-service restaurant operators. McDonald's 2011 results, through the first three quarters, were slightly better than our expectations and were notably better than most of the quick-service restaurant industry. Many competitors have experienced limited same-store sales
