ARCO
MCD
A pretty tasty quarter
Arcos Dorados, the giant McDonald’s franchisee across Latin America and the Caribbean, came in hotter than Wall Street expected in the first quarter. Revenue hit $1.22 billion and earnings landed at 17 cents a share, both ahead of estimates, while the stock popped about 9% on the news.
More people, more fries, more clicks
The real engine here was traffic. Systemwide comparable sales climbed 16% year over year, helped by stronger guest counts and bigger average checks in Brazil and the Southern Latin America region. That’s the kind of combo investors like: not just inflation doing the heavy lifting, but actual customers showing up.
A few more nuggets:
- Adjusted EBITDA rose 29.3% to $118 million, its best first-quarter result ever
- EBITDA margin expanded to 9.7%
- The company opened 19 restaurants, including 13 free-standing locations
- Digital sales grew 21% and made up 64% of total systemwide sales
Digital is doing the heavy lifting
This is where the story gets interesting. Arcos Dorados said self-order kiosks, delivery, and loyalty programs helped power the digital channel, and new delivery partnerships in Brazil gave the business another boost. In other words, convenience is now a growth strategy, not just a nice-to-have.
The company also said 75% of its restaurants had been modernized by quarter-end, which matters because shiny stores and smoother ordering can nudge customers toward spending more and coming back sooner. The company ended the period with $255.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, so it’s not exactly running on empty.
Big picture
For investors, this is a reminder that McDonald’s exposure in Latin America can still deliver growth when value menus, digital ordering, and traffic trends line up. The business isn’t trying to reinvent the burger wheel — it’s just making the wheel spin faster.