McDonald's (MCD) posted a surprise same-store sales increase for the fourth quarter but its revenue unexpectedly fell, while the fast-food giant continued to see the impact of an E. coli outbreak last year.

Adjusted earnings came in at $2.83 a share for the December quarter, down from $2.95 the year before, missing the FactSet-polled consensus for $2.85. Revenue decreased to $6.39 billion from $6.41 billion, defying the Street's expectation for an increase to $6.45 billion.

Comparable sales on a global basis edged 0.4% higher, down from a 3.4% rise in the prior-year quarter. Analysts on FactSet estimated the metric to decline by 1.1%. The stock rose 3.8% in Monday trading.

"Throughout November and December, we saw sequential improvement in baseline traffic performance, including slightly positive comp guest count growth for the month of December, and had a positive comp guest count," Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. "These results were driven by our marketing efforts to amplify traffic drivers."

In the US, same-store sales fell 1.4% versus growth of 4.3% last year, reflecting a drop in average check that was partially offset by "slightly positive" comparable guest counts, according to the company. The result also reflected the impact of the E. coli outbreak in October linked to slivered onions on the company's Quarter Pounder hamburgers, Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski said on the call.

"The US food safety issue is now largely behind us and we expect to have fully recovered by the beginning of (the second quarter)," Kempczinski told analysts.

Comparable sales in international developmental licensed markets climbed 4.1% mainly driven by positive performance in the Middle East and Japan segments, the company said. Same-store sales in international operated markets nudged up 0.1%, impacted by negative results in some markets, including the UK.

McDonald's expects foreign currency to be a headwind of $0.20 to $0.30 a share, based on current rates, on full-year 2025 EPS amid a strengthening US dollar, Borden said on the call. The company is targeting a full-year operating margin in the mid- to high-40% range and aims to spend between $3 billion and $3.2 billion in capital expenditures. It also plans to open about 2,200 restaurants in 2025, with about a quarter of these openings in its US and international operated markets, according to the CFO.

"As we've discussed, there are varying levels of near-term headwinds across markets," Borden said. "Our approach to our 2025 outlook reflects the current environment of soft or declining restaurant industry traffic in the US, and many of our larger markets."