** Shares of McDonald's MCD.N down 0.4% at $284 ahead of its quarterly earnings report due on Thursday with analysts expecting strong growth in sales from international markets

** The burger chain has been looking to attract more price-conscious customers. It launched a "McValue" menu marketed as costing under $3 for a meal and $4 for breakfast option

** MCD's revenue is expected to rise ~9% to $6.5 billion boosted by franchised and company operated restaurants, particularly in countries outside the U.S.

** Adj EPS is expected to be up ~3% to $2.74 versus $2.67 a year ago

** MCD's rev and adj EPS have met or exceeded analyst expectations 5 times over the last 8 quarters

** 38 analysts cover MCD, giving it an avg rating of "BUY" and median PT of $355, per LSEG data

** MCD is down 7% YTD versus the S&P 500's consumer discretionary index .SPLRCD, which is up ~3.7% YTD