Shares in global fast food giant McDonald’s dipped 5% this week, after the company announced third quarter results that did not meet market forecasts. On Tuesday, McDonald’s announced third quarter sales of $5.4bn (€4.9bn), just 1% higher than the same period last year, but slightly below expectations on Wall Street.

McDonald’s recorded third quarter operating profits of $2.4bn (€2.2bn), while operating profit margins remained at an incredibly robust 44%.

The global restaurant chain, recorded net profits of $1.6bn (€1.4bn), which was down 2% year on year. Every day, McDonald’s feeds about 65m people around the world.

Delivery remains a big frontier for our business, and we still have a long way to go

The company recently launched a home delivery service, which it believes will be a big driver of sales growth in the coming years. The US-based corporation said it expects delivery to drive $4bn (€3.6bn) of global sales this year.

Home delivery is now available from about 23,000 McDonald’s restaurants in over 80 countries, including Ireland.

On average, customers spend twice as much on delivery orders as they do on in-store orders, says McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook.

“Delivery remains a big frontier for our business, and we still have a long way to go,” he added.

McDonald’s is a key customer for a number of Irish food companies, including Kerry Group, Dawn Meats, Slaney Meats, Lakeland and Aryzta.

In total, McDonald’s sources more than €200m worth of Irish food every year and is the single largest buyer of Irish beef, sourcing 40,000t for its burgers.