McDonald's ends 2021 strong, but costs rising

This June 25, 2019, photo shows the sign outside a McDonald's restaurant in Pittsburgh. McDonald’s is expanding U.S. testing of its meatless McPlant burger. The company said the McPlant __ which it's developing with plant-based protein company Beyond Meat __ will be tested at 600 stores in the San Francisco and Dallas areas starting Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

McDonald’s ended 2021 on a high note with U.S. customers spending more and fewer restaurant closures in Europe from coronavirus restrictions.

The Chicago burger giant said global same-store sales __ or sales at restaurants open at least a year __ rose 12.3% in the quarter. That's better than the 10.5% increase that Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

In the U.S., same-store sales rose 7.5% as limited-time products like the McRib drew customers despite higher menu prices. McDonald's said in the fall that U.S. prices would be 6% higher in 2021 than the prior year.

Revenue rose 13% to $6.01 billion, which was just shy of Wall Street expectations, according to a survey of industry analysts by FactSet, with sales crimped by coronavirus restrictions in Australia and China.

But McDonald's was still stung by rising prices and higher labor costs, which cut into profits. The Chicago company reported adjusted earnings of $2.23 per share, 11 cents short of Wall Street expectations.