Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma previews McDonald's earnings and tries the chain's latest 'menu hack' items.

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: OK, so we're going to get McDonald's Q4 earnings before the bell tomorrow. But Brooke DiPalma is here with a preview not only on the earnings, but cheeseburgers in paradise. Brooke.

BROOKE DIPALMA: That's right, Adam. First, let's get to the earnings. Then we'll get to the cheeseburger in paradise. But Wall Street expects the Golden Arches to report an adjusted earnings per share of $2.33, with a revenue of a little more than $6 billion for its fourth quarter results. Now, keep in mind in Q3, the company comp similar expectations set by Wall Street, with those results back in Q3 boosted by strong sales across the board after customers were enticed by new menu items like crispy chicken sandwiches, as well as a famous orders campaign, which included Korean pop star band, BTS.

Now as far as expectations for same store sales go, as you can see here, it's nearly 11% in the fourth quarter. But keep in mind, Wall Street is also keeping a close eye on COVID-19 era trends that may be here to stay. Those include delivery, digital, as well as loyalty. It's been nearly-- or a little more than six months since McDonald's launched its loyalty app back in July, My McDonald's Rewards. It will be interesting to see how that's doing now six months later, as we approach that one year mark.

But Adam and Emily, on the other hand, analysts are also keeping a close eye on the impact of the omicron variant, which they did not-- which was not fully contemplated into their guidance for this quarter. And also staffing shortages really hitting the restaurant industry at large, as well as commodity cost inflation really hitting the cost and really pressuring McDonald's potentially this quarter. So Wall Street has lots to look out to, but they have high hopes.

EMILY MCCORMICK: Brooke, as we head into this earnings results, McDonald's is also shaking up its menu with four menu hacks that have been inspired by its fans on social media. Break down what these are for us and which ones are you trying.

BROOKE DIPALMA: That's right, Emily. So four new menu hacks, they're calling it, are going to be added to the menu for a limited time only. They include a Hash Brown McMuffin as a Sausage McMuffin with an egg, as well as a hash brown. That's only available during breakfast hours.

The Crunchy Double, which is one I'll be trying, it's a six-piece Chicken McNuggets, a barbecue sauce, and a Double Cheeseburger. The Surf and Turf, now it's not steak and fish, it is a Filet-O-Fish and a Double Cheeseburger that's only available on the app, as well as a Land, Air, and Sea. That's a Big Mac, a McChicken, and a Filet-O-Fish.

Now keep in mind, all these menu hacks were created and went viral on social media. So McDonald's took a page out of its fans' playbook, and they added it to the menu, lucky for me. So we are trying the Crunchy Double. So as you can see, that's six chicken nuggets, a cheeseburger, and then to top it off, we have their tangy barbecue sauce.

So I'm just going to-- oh, look at that. It's not really coming out too fast. So I'll just put a little bit on top so you get the hang of it. Oh, yum, guys. Oh, yikes. So now we will close the sandwich. And if you guys want to chat about what you would try on the menu while I take a bite, that'd be wonderful.

And I do want to say--

ADAM SHAPIRO: Oh, my god.

BROOKE DIPALMA: --this is my first time ever having a cheeseburger from McDonald's. So I don't know if this is the right occasion to try it, but let's give it a shot.

ADAM SHAPIRO: We're watching. Just want you to know that your 90-year-old self in the future has emailed us and said, don't do it! My heart is saying, don't do it! This is a woman who runs marathons, by the way, everybody.

BROOKE DIPALMA: One marathon one time, but all right. A mouthful.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Looks good.

BROOKE DIPALMA: I would say it's a little bit-- it's good. It's a bit of too much for me, I'll say. The cheese is a little bit cold, which is definitely not helping. But the barbecue sauce does add a bit of a delightful flavor to it. This, I have to say, was only less than $6. So you're getting quite the meal for that price. I don't know if I'll get this for myself again, but it was an interesting and fun, new campaign for McDonald's that I'm sure fans will flock for.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Your 90-year-old self just emailed us again and said, thank you, Brooke. The heart is feeling very good. All right, Brooke DiPalma, everybody. Thank you.