As the fast-food upstart startup heads for a $568m IPO and global expansion, the biggest name in the business is suffering terrible financial results. Why?
It started life as a single hot dog stand in Manhattan’s Madison Square Park. Little more than a decade later, Shake Shack has expanded to 63 outlets in nine countries and is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) that will value the company at $568m (£374m).
Shake Shack is one of a string of hipster-ish fast food chains, including Five Guys, Chipotle and Smashburger, which are eating into McDonald’s profits. On Friday, McDonald’s reported a 15% plunge in global annual profits, making 2014 one of its worst financial years. Its poor performance over the last three months of 2014 takes to seven the number of consecutive quarters in which McDonald’s has failed to meet analysts expectations.
Related: McDonald's reports profits plunge of 15% in one of chain's worst ever years
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