McDonald's Corp. recently posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit, boosted by strong overseas sales.

The company also repurchased $2 billion shares of its stock during the quarter.
The world's largest restaurant chain operator had net income of $946.1 million, or 81 cents per share, in the first quarter, compared with its year-earlier net income of $762.4 million, or 62 cents per share.
Analysts, on average, had been looking for a profit of 70 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue rose 6 percent to $5.61 billion. Analysts on average had been looking for $5.55 billion. Sales at stores open at least 13 months rose 7.4 percent.

Same-store sales rose 2.9 percent in the quarter in the United States, 11.1 percent in Europe and 9.4 percent in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa segment.
McDonald's and rival hamburger seller Burger King Holdings Inc. have been outperforming the overall U.S. restaurant sector, which has been hobbled by high gas and food prices, a slumping jobs market and falling home values.

McDonald's has been appealing to cash-strapped U.S. consumers with a selection of low-priced menu items ranging from coffee drinks to hamburgers.
McDonald's shares traded at $58.80 on Tuesday in premarket electronic trading, up from the $58.67 close Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.
As of Monday, shares in McDonald's were up 21 percent over the last year.

McDonald's Corp.
Oak Brook, Ill.