thanks to the leadership of ceo steve easterbrook and his roll-out of the all-day breakfast menu that put the competition in a world of hurt. not to mention a value menu that launched at the beginning of the year. the stock of mcdonald's -- oh, my -- has rallied more than 35% since the initial all-day breakfast announcement. remember when people didn't think it mattered? this is very much a zero sum game. during the same period of time many other fast food stocks have gotten hammered. look at that house of pain of jack in the box. there is one burger chain that seemingly is not feeling any competitive pain at all right here and now. and that's -- sonic. sonic! it reported an impressive quarter last week despite the fact they offer many of the same core items as mcdonald's. burgers, fries and shakes. somehow they have transcend ed a difficult environment. sonic stock is only a buck off the all-time highs. which begs the question -- a week ago the company delivered truly stellar results. it was after the close. i said holy cow. they posted a beat off a 16 cent basis. higher than expecte

its recovery efforts under mcdonald's' relatively new ceo steve easterbrook who stepped into the top job in 2015. internationally mcdonald's is being helped by improvements in key markets. china was a standout, sales increasing more than 7% after problems with suppliers in the country. mcdonald's said it wants to make china its second-largest market in the world after the united states. the japan business finally turning in a profit after a rough couple of years, losing money. at the end of march mcdonald's had more than 36,000 stores around the world and it aims to open 500 more this year. they're also returning a lot of money back to shareholders. $30 billion in the last three years. but even with the stellar earnings results mcdonald's executives say this is only the beginning in a turnaround plan to get back to the peak days of profitability for the company. >>> three companies that are also used as a proxy for the economy posted their latest results today. general electric, caterpillar, and honeywell. at ge, which is in the process of shedding assets from its ge capital unit, ad

it seems the company ceo steve easterbrook is making good on turnaround efforts for the chain.bs analyst keith cigna, who has a buy rating on the stock, says easterbrook's efforts are bearing fruit. keith: you see a global effort taking hold. 5.4%, it is to put a really strong testament. this is a very large business. franchisees -- operators -- and corporate are all behind it. it is product. it is marketing. it is messaging. it is better quality ingredients, and all day breakfast and value. the combination of all of this is having this flywheel event -- affect. scarlett: if you look at steam store sales forming -- stained : if you look at saints for sales, all day -- if sales,k at same-store all day breakfast -- is this one and done? keith: i think there's a lot to go from here. i do not think all day breakfast is go. platform -- it can expand to have breakfast items. you might see that as you get closer to the summer. there are new products. brunch burger -- there is a lot they can do, and that does not get into the product upgrades and enhancements that could keep this momen

if you look at same-store sales, it has been doing much better with a huge improvement since steve easterbrooke helm. all-day breakfast is to thank for that but will it start to cannibalize sales? >> we get this question a lot. where do we go from here? i think there is a lot to go from here. i don't think all-day breakfast is done. 2 platform could expand to have request items on it. there are new products they can add to it. there is a lot they can do with this. that does not get into all the other product upgrades and enhancements to keep this momentum going. some noises were about the idea of all-you-can-eat french fries. i gather that is off the table? >> you could end up in a situation but that is more for the press than for fun. these little test keep you in the media and keep the attention high. i think they are good to do whether you plan on launching it or not. it's fun and the brand should have fun with themselves. scarlet: you also cover starbucks. what can mcdonald's learn from starbucks? >> the key from starbucks is institutionalized innovation. take risks, be relevant, be irreve

go tell that to steve easterbrook of mcdonald's.d's may have hurt everybody, but this was a stunner. and i honestly think this is a company that has to be valued at $100 per share if you're going to just become another restaurant chain. i have got to find out. i don't think that it could have -- it fell off a cliff. >> all right. well -- >> it was k-2, david. you talked to me the other day, it was k-2. into thin wings. >> you are going to get answers sally smith on that tonight. we've got the opening bell coming up. earnings from at&t and comcast, if i get some calls back maybe we'll have more on dreamworks. back after this. i am benedict arnold, the infamous traitor. and i know a thing or two about trading. so i trade with e*trade, where true traders trade on a trademarked trade platform that has all the... get off the computer traitor! i won't. (cannon sound) i won't. ♪ i could get used to this. now you can, with the luxuriously transformed 2016 lexus es and es hybrid. ♪ >>> watching cnbc "squawk on the street" live from the finan

by the way, shareholders have a bridge, an englishman to thank each ceo steve easterbrook, a great.e's the guy who turned this thing around. i'm picking on the donald's because i'm so surprised. it is supposed to be the heir of all fresh fruits and vegetables and kale? >> everybody loves breakfast. literally since the day they made that decision going to break his father, that looks good. people like that. stuart: i was one of those people that that america really wants veggies and kale. not dense. they want a cheeseburger, fries, hashbrowns all day long. >> but it's good management. they went from having things that didn't work and now this has worked. good for him. we need that. a little influence. surprised they haven't gone to fish and chips. ashley: now don't tease me. stuart: do you may have heard that it's somebody's birthday today. roll tape. ♪ happy birthday to you. ♪ stuart: for the benefit of all those viewers who do not know who she is and that is queen elizabeth. 90 years old and she received these messages from her family and the prime minister. roll that tape. >> in t