In the previous quarter, the company fell short of consensus revenue expectations, reporting a 6% year on year growth in revenues, against the expected 8%. Comparable sales growth remained at 2% (in line with the numbers in 2017) despite strong comparable sales of 6% reported in China. In March, same-store sales growth was 0.8 percent, the second-best month for restaurant industry sales growth over the last two years. While fine dining and upscale casual restaurants have consistently shown sales growth, casual dining and fast casual struggled heavily in 2017. Growth in China: China was again the fastest growing market for the company in the first quarter, with 6% comps growth and 30% revenue growth.

Source: Forbes April 25, 2018 17:37 UTC