By Shauna O’Brien November 12th, 2012

After several years of outperformance, McDonald’s shares hit a big snag recently. Has the company turned back the clock in a bad way?

MacDonald’s Chart (MCD): Break Support!

The Skinner Era: A Comeback Story

In 2004, following the unexpected passing on CEO Jim Cantalupo, McDonald’s appointed Jim Skinner as its new CEO. Skinner had been with the company for over 40 years, starting off flipping burgers. He climbed his way up the ladder in the next few decades, no one could have anticipated the turnaround Skinner orchestrated once he took over as chief executive.

You see, back in 2004, McDonald’s stock was in the pits. The company traded at roughly $25 per share with annual revenue of around $17 billion. Skinner knew that the company needed a change, and he knew that MCD needed to be better positioned in the market. By studying ...