By Paul Ziobro Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- McDonald's Corp. (MCD) will likely use next Thursday's analyst meeting to highlight strategies to widen its lead in a fast-food industry that's losing customers as unemployment climbs. Analysts are also looking for details on sales of McDonald's newest products including McCafe specialty coffees and its premium Angus burger, as well as any other new items. An expanded plan to remodel could also be on the table as another sales driver, since refurbished stores tend to attract customers. Trying to gain market share is "usually their plan for when the global economy is struggling, and their aims will be no different this time around," said Mark Kalinowski, restaurant analyst at Janney Capital Markets. Rising unemployment and skittish consumer spending have begun to catch up to McDonald's, especially in the U.S. Monday, McDonald's is expected to post flat to slightly negative U.S. same-store sales for October, a deceleration from prior months. Stronger sales in McDonald's other regions should keep worldwide same-store sales positive for the month. A McDonald's spokeswoman declined to comment ahead of the release. In the U.S., McDonald's is now facing an unemployment rate of 10.2% and even higher among fast-food's most-frequent customers, as well as heightened discounting. Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) is selling its double cheeseburger for $1 while Wendy's, of Wendy's/Arby's Inc. (WEN), plans to add a new value offering to its menu sometime early next year. McDonald's is holding steady with its Dollar Menu, and doesn't plan any major changes to it. It is testing $1 breakfast items in some markets as sales during that time are more vulnerable to joblessness. While McDonald's business has outperformed most restaurants, shares have fallen slightly this year as investors chased returns in companies that had more room for improvement. McDonald's shares were recently at $61.92, off 0.7% in a year the Dow Jones Industrial Average has jumped 14.2%. McDonald's is also trying to shake the notion that the recession was a boon to business. While it may have picked up customers trading down from full-service restaurants, McDonald's executives think it lost more diners who gave up eating out altogether. As the economy improves, McDonald's hopes those customers will begin coming back. "I don't think what we're seeing is just a recession-related story," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at Oakbrook Investments LLC, which owns about 300,000 McDonald's shares. "They're selling products the customer wants and delivering them at a very reasonable price. That's always in vogue, whether you're in a recession or not." McDonald's is also expected to announce plans for returning capital to shareholders after fulfilling a goal of spending $15 million to $17 billion on dividend payments and share buybacks over the last three years. -By Paul Ziobro, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2194; paul.ziobro@dowjones.com
