McDonald's sales slide continues into May

Aamer Madhani | USA TODAY

CHICAGO — McDonald's said on Monday that its sales remain sluggish, with the world's biggest hamburger chain showing sales dropping 0.3% globally last month compared to the same period last year.

The company said sales at U.S. stores open at least a year fell 2.2%, while locations in Asia/Pacific, the Middle East and Africa were down 3.2%. Sales in Europe were up by 2.3%, buoyed by strong results in the U.K. and positive performance in Germany and France.

If there's a silver lining, the May numbers for the fast food chain at least showed signs of improvement. McDonald's sales were down 1.8% in January. The company reported sales at stores open at least a year fell 0.6% in April, and 1.7% fall in February.

McDonald's stock -- under ticker MCD -- is down 0.1%.

The chain has struggled to adapt to American's rising expectations from fast food chains and has faced stiff competition from rising upstarts like, Chipotle and Shake Shack.

McDonald's CEO and President Steve Easterbrook on Monday restated his plan to reignite McDonald's as "a modern, progressive burger company."

The company is experimenting with an all-day breakfast menu in stores and delivery service in New York City.

But Easterbrook suggested at last month's annual shareholder meeting that the company would be well-served by narrowing its focus when it comes to its menu.

"One of the challenges we have as a business is that the menu has gotten increasingly broad," Easterbrook said. "One of the things we are looking at is just how we can trim back the menu, so we can offer the majority of the items that customers love, and make sure they're hot, fresh and available all day."