McDonalds shares hit record highs on Wednesday, after upmarket burgers and $1 drinks boosted sales. The fast food chain recorded its highest quarterly sales at established stores in five years in the three months to the end of June, with turnaround efforts and the use of better ingredients paying off. UK stores recorded their highest sales ever, with sales at stores open at least 13 months jumping 6.6 percent from this time last year. McDonalds reported earnings of $1.70 per share on $6.05 billion in revenue, higher than the $1.62 per share on $5.96 billion in revenue expected by analysts. “We’re building a better McDonald’s and more customers are noticing,” said Steve Easterbrook, the company’s chief executive. “Our relentless commitment to running great restaurants and keeping the customer at the center of everything we do is generating broad-based strength and momentum across our entire business.”  

Brewing company Marston’s (LON:MARS) saw shares sink over 4 percent on Wednesday morning, after hot weather led to weak demand for its pub meals. Like-for-like sales in tits food division rose by just 1.3 percent for the 42 weeks to July 22, almost half the 2.5p percent rate recorded in the same period last year. Marston’s brewing section fared better, with own-brewed beer volumes up around 4 percent on the year before, reflecting the “continued good performance of our underlying business and the benefits of the acquisition of Charles Wells Brewing and Beer Business.” The company confirmed that it remained on track to meet growth targets for 23 new pub-restaurants and bars in the current financial year in addition to eight lodges. Commenting on the results, Ralph Findlay, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We remain encouraged by our continued market outperformance and focused on delivering sustainable growth and maximising return on capital in an evolving market place. “Our transformed pub estate continues to deliver positive like for like growth across all three divisions. We benefit from an operating structure which spans food-led destination and wet-let community pubs, accommodation and brewing, maintaining a good balance within our brand portfolio and broad consumer appeal. “The Charles Wells brewing and beer business is bedding in well, further underpinning our leadership in the UK ale market. We are on track to complete our new-build and lodge expansion plans. We remain confident of delivering further profitable progress for the full financial year.” Shares in Marston’s are currently trading down 3.23 percent at 117.40 (1127GMT).

Shares in hospitality group Compass Group (LON:CPG) rose over 2 percent on Wednesday, after reporting strong third quarter performance. Organic revenue growth in the third quarter stood at 3.9 percent, with growth accelerating after netting new business in North America and recording good progress in Europe. For the nine months to 30 June 2017 organic revenue growth was 3.7 percent. In North America the firm recorded a 7.1 percent revenue growth over the third quarter, but saw a 0.3 percent fall in Europe and a 1.3 percent decline in its business across the rest of the world. In a statement, the group said it had “had a good third quarter”, and full year expectations remain “positive and unchanged.” “North America is performing strongly and we anticipate further progress in Europe and Rest of World in the fourth quarter. We remain focused on driving efficiencies throughout the business and our margin expectations for the full year are also unchanged”, it concluded. Shares in Compass are currently trading up 2.25 percent on the positive outlook, at 1,634.00 (1101GMT).

General Motors (NYSE:GM) shares had a volatile day on Tuesday, after a mixed set of second quarter results. The company, who own the Buick, Opel and Vauxhall brands, recorded earnings per share of $1.89, above the $1.69 expected by Reuters analysts. However revenue came in at $37 billion, just below the $40.15 billion expected, with net income at $2.4 billion, down from $2.8 billion a year earlier. The results excluded its European arm, which is being sold to French carmaker PSA. The company said on Tuesday that dealer inventories in the second quarter were up 273,000 against the same period in 2016. GM has built up a large inventory of unsold vehicles in advance of the launch of several new models. General Motors shares plunged after the results were released, but have since recovered. They are currently trading up 0.70 percent at 36.07 (1611GMT).

Luxury fashion retailer Jimmy Choo (LON:CHOO) has been bought by Michael Kors, in a deal worth £896 million.

The deal was confirmed on Tuesday, just three months after Jimmy Choo was put up for sale. The luxury retailer, founded by Malaysian shoe designed Jimmy Choo and Tamara Mellon in 1996, has suffered from sinking sales in recent years as consumers gravitate towards higher and lower price brands.

Jimmy Choo will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Michael Kors, with Kors’ honorary chairman, Mr Kors himself, saying “We admire the glamorous style and trendsetting nature of Jimmy Choo designs. We look forward to welcoming Jimmy Choo to our luxury group.” The sale plan has been backed by Jimmy Choo’s main shareholder, JAB Holdings, and will offer a growth opportunity for middle-market retailer Michael Kors. The company has also suffered from a change in consumer behaviour, sowngrading its sales forecasts for the rest of the year and planning to close as many as 125 of its full-price retail stores.

We believe that Jimmy Choo is poised for meaningful growth in the future,” John D. Idol, the Michael Kors chairman and chief executive, said in a news release.

“We are committed to supporting the strong brand equity that Jimmy Choo has built over the last 20 years.”

Jimmy Choo shares have soared on the news, currently trading up 17.08 percent at 22831 (1234GMT).

Shares in budget airline Ryanair (LON:RYA) sunk on Monday after it issued another warning on Brexit, despite seeing profits for the quarter rise over 55 percent. Profit after tax hit £397 million in the three months to June, with the airline making £11.40 profit on every passenger it carried during the period. Traffic rose 12 percent to 35 milliom as Ryanair’s lower fares and “Always Getting Better” led to a record 96 percent load factor. Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary commented on the stronger-than-expected figures: “While Q1 average fares rose by 1 percent percent to just over £40, this was due to a strong April, boosted by Easter, offset by adverse sterling, lower bag revenue as more customers switch to our 2 free carry-on bag policy, and yield stimulation following a series of security events in Manchester and London.” However, investor sentiment was dampened by a warning from O’Leary on the airline’s future in the wake of Brexit. “We remain concerned at the uncertainty which surrounds the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU in March ’19. While we continue to campaign for the UK to remain in the EU Open Skies agreement, we caution that should the UK leave, there may not be sufficient time, or goodwill on both sides, to negotiate a timely replacement bilateral which could result in a disruption of flights between the UK and Europe for a period of time from April ’19 onwards”, he said. “We, like all airlines, seek clarity on this issue before we publish our summer 2019 schedule in the second quarter of 2018. If we do not have certainty about the legal basis for the operation of flights between the UK and the EU by autumn 2018, we may be forced to cancel flights and move some, or all, of our UK based aircraft to Continental Europe from April ’19 onwards.” The CEO’s warning led to Ryanair’s share price to fall on Monday, as investors take stock of the airline’s future. Shares are currently down 3.70 percent at 17.43 (1216GMT).

Easyjet (LON:EZJ) shares sunk nearly 5 percent on Thursday morning, after warning that negative currency movements were likely to have a negative impact on profits going forward. Figures were encouraging for the third quarter, with passengers carried increased by 10.8 percent to 22.3 million, and load factor increasing by 1.1 percentage points to 93.1 percent. Total revenue per seat also increased by 2.2 percent at constant currency, ahead of guidance. Total revenue in the quarter increased by 16.0 percent to £1,387 million. Carolyn McCall, easyJet Chief Executive said: “easyJet has delivered a strong performance in the quarter right across the business. “Our purposeful and disciplined growth continues to strengthen our market positions and we are seeing an underlying improving revenue trend. “Although we expect capacity to continue to put pressure on yields, our progress this year has enabled us to upgrade this year’s PBT forecast and demonstrates that after a difficult 18 months of external challenges easyJet once again has positive momentum.” However the company added that it expected continued pressure on yields, and that exchange rate movements are likely to have around a £20 million adverse impact to headline profit before tax compared to the six months to 30 September 2016. Shares in easyJet are currently trading down 5.15 percent at 1,340.00 (1151GMT).

Shares in baby care retailer Mothercare (LON:MTC) fell nearly 5 percent on Thursday, after a fall in online sales dampened investor confidence. UK like-for-like sales rose 1.9 percent during the quarter, with the company entering the end of season sale with lower stocks and achieving a higher sell through rate. However total sales fell 1.8 per cent with online sales growth slowing sharply, dropping to 3.3 percent in the second quarter. International sales fared better, rising 2.2 per cent, but plunging 8.3 per cent with the boost from the Brexit-hit pound stripped out. The group attributed the lower UK sales to the ongoing store closure programme, as part of an ongoing effort to cut costs. Mark Newton-Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Mothercare, said they “continued to make progress in the UK during the period.” “Whilst online sales recorded a lower growth, in contrast to higher sales growth in store, we don’t believe this represents an underlying permanent shift in customer behaviour. “In our International business, the challenging economic conditions in the Middle East continue and are impacting overall performance, and so the outlook remains volatile.” Mothercare shares are currently trading down 4.47 percent at 98.40 (1104GMT).