July 23rd, 2010 09:28 AM - (Reuters) — McDonald's Corp. reported weaker-than expected sales at established restaurants, overshadowing a profit beat for the second quarter, and shares dropped almost 3 percent.

Investors had been hoping to see more momentum from restaurants, often an early indicator of renewed economic ...

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Wall Street can be a harsh mistress. At least in the USA McDonald's
did pretty well in June. The overwhelming power of McDonald's marketing
program seems to wiping out the competitors, large and small.

Something that went largely unnoticed (or covered up) last year was
the negative impact of the McCafe espresso based drinks. These drinks
have sold poorly and yet McDonald's USA devoted more than half their
marketing power to the product in 2009.

However, this blunder will pay off this year since, for the rest of 2010, they
are up against very soft McCafe sales during comparable months in 2009.

One can cover up a lot of mistakes with an almost infinite advertising budget.