Breakfast bump: McDonald's US sales jump 5.7 percent

NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald's says offering breakfast around the clock helped jolt its sales.

Sales at the world's biggest hamburger chain rose 5.7 percent in the U.S. for the final three months of 2015, boosted by unseasonably warm weather and the launch of an all-day breakfast menu in October.

That marked the second straight quarter of domestic growth as McDonald's fights to win back customers, and the best showing since early 2012. Globally, sales rose 5 percent at established locations.

McDonald's, which has more than 36,000 locations around the world, is working to turnaround its business under CEO Steve Easterbrook, who will mark one year on the job in March. The Oak Brook, Ill., company has conceded that it failed to keep up with changing tastes, and that order speed and accuracy suffered as its menu grew more expansive.

Despite the encouraging finish to the year, McDonald's has a long way to go. For all of 2015, U.S. customer visits fell 3 percent at established McDonald's locations. That followed a 4.1 percent drop the previous year. Guest counts declined globally as well during the period.

In a call with analysts, Easterbrook cautioned that the company wanted to see another quarter or two of positive results before shifting gears from turnaround mode to a focus on growth.

The launch of all-day breakfast has been one of the company's most high-profile maneuvers under Easterbrook.