McDonald’s to Cut Store Openings

McDonald’s Corp., the largest fast-food chain, will open 200 fewer restaurants next year and buy back as much as $5 billion of its stock to help boost sales and profit.

The company also expects to take a fourth-quarter charge of $175 million to $200 million as it cuts jobs and consolidates plants.

McDonald’s said it expects per-share earnings growth of 5% to 10% in fiscal 2002, excluding the charge and the effect of currency exchange rates.

McDonald’s needs to slow expansion overseas and improve business in the United States, analysts and investors have said. The company said this month that it will reduce its work force by 10%.

Shares of Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s fell $1.67 to close at $27.28 on the NYSE.