Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning.

It's good to have you here on this Thursday, February 12th. I'm Julie Morgan.

McDonald's celebrated with the Grinch that kept on giving this holiday season, as promotions helped boost Q4 sales. McDonald's Corporation rallied on Wednesday

after recording its best quarter of the year. However, the rally did not continue. Shares are down

0.2% in pre-market action. Global comparable sales rose 5.7% in Q4 and were up 6.8% in the U.S. Notably, the restaurant chain added market share during the quarter without seeing a decline in operating income.

It was also noted that the Minecraft promotion and demand for Grinch collectibles both drove traffic.

The U.S. comparable sales tally was said to be

boosted by marketing initiatives, including the Monopoly Event and the Grinch Mill. The Big Arch was

noted to be a strong menu offering and select markets where it is being tested. McDonald's plans

to keep adding new beverage options after seeing strong results. On the

development front, McDonald's said the chain is still on track for 50,000 global restaurants by the

end of 2027. New restaurant openings were noted to be accelerating. Apple's iPhone was the only

smartphone to see growth in China sales in January,

according to Counterpoint Research. Every major Chinese mobile maker from Huawei Technologies to

Xiaomi saw major declines in a market that was down 23% overall. Bloomberg News reported citing Counterpoint researchers that this was largely due to

reduce subsidies and a shift in the timing of the lunar new year. The iPhone 17 lineup, however, helped Apple to

8% growth, raising its share of the market to roughly a fifth, sharing the lead with Huawei Technologies.

Southwest Airlines is teaming up with Starlink. Southwest will provide its rapid rewards members

with free Starlink internet connectivity. The airline plans to integrate the service on more than 300

aircraft by the end of this year.

The first Starlink equipped aircraft will enter service this summer.

SpaceX engineered Starlink will deliver Wi-Fi across Southwest Network of 11 countries.

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