McDonald's (MCD) stock price is up more than 10% this year and is trading at an all-time high.
It's been an incredible for McDonald's, gaining nearly 55% since Steve Easterbrook was promoted from chief brand officer to CEO in January 2015.
The company has outperformed rivals Burger King parent Restaurant Brands (QSR), Wendy's (WEN), Sonic (SONC) and Shake Shack (SHAK) as well as KFC and Taco Bell owner Yum Brands (YUM) by a wide margin over the last 12 months.
Easterbrook, who officially took over in March 2015, quickly revamped the company's menu, introducing newer customized sandwiches, all day breakfast options and healthier ingredients like super food kale.
Consumers as well as Wall Street analysts have responded favorably to all the changes. McDonald's reported same-store sales growth of 6.2% worldwide for the first quarter last month. That followed a 5% increase in the fourth quarter.
Analysts have raised their earnings forecasts for this year and 2017 as a result of the recent strong results.
McDonald's is also looking to boost sales in Asia, an area where McDonald's has lagged. Many of the Asian markets it operates in are part of what McDonald's calls its "high growth" segment. But sales have been growing more rapidly in the U.S. and Europe lately.
The company said in late March that it hopes to add more than 1,500 new McDonald's restaurants in China, Hong Kong and Korea over the next five years. McDonald's currently has over 2,800 locations in these three markets.
In the meanwhile, the great period of the fast-food company is not looking to end anytime soon.
