McDonald's: Outbreak Should Be Quickly Contained; We Expect Modest Comparable Sales Impact

We expect wide-moat McDonald’s to move quickly to quell the impact of a food safety scare in a handful of its US restaurants. After an E. coli outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in 10 states, including one person who died, the firm has pulled its Quarter Pounder burger—the suspected source of contamination—from stores that source from the affected distribution centers.