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McDonald鈥檚 Corp. reported fairly weak聽聽but still had enough strength to fire a shot across the bow of Taco Bell, which has received so much attention for its new breakfast menu.

Customers choose McDonald鈥檚 for breakfast because it is freshly prepared, said McDonald鈥檚 Corp. CEO Don Thompson during today鈥檚 Q1 earnings call. 鈥淲e cook in our restaurants. We crack fresh eggs. We have ovens and grills,鈥� he added. Breakfast competition has been intense for years and McDonald鈥檚 remains the daypart鈥檚 QSR leader, he said.

McDonald鈥檚 made clear it will defend its breakfast sales against 鈥渢aco shop鈥� competitors.

There鈥檚 always some new competitor, including 鈥渢aco shops,鈥� making a run at McDonald鈥檚 breakfast sales, he said, and consumers can be expected to try what鈥檚 new. But McDonald鈥檚 鈥渉as not seen any [sales] impact relative to new competitors,鈥� he said.

McDonald鈥檚 has 鈥渄efensible competitive advantages鈥� that it needs to communicate in it marketing, he said.

Thompson said McDonald鈥檚 is focusing its attention on four 鈥減riority markets鈥濃�攖he U.S., Germany, China and Australia鈥攖hat have seen sales declines. In Q1, U.S. comp sales were down 1.7% due to lower guest traffic. Thompson said 1.4% of that was attributable to severe winter weather. 鈥淭he Informal Eating Out Market in the U.S. is relatively flat. It鈥檚 a market-share battle,鈥� said Thompson. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e focused on what the customer focuses on,鈥� which he said includes breakfast, balancing new and core menu items and efficient store operations.

Thompson said the company occasionally focuses too much on profit margins and not enough on customers. 鈥淲e鈥檒l always have profitability in our plans but it has to be customers first,鈥� he said.

In the U.S.鈥攚here Q1 menu prices were 3% higher than a year earlier鈥擬cDonald鈥檚 is strengthening its marketing message by focusing more narrowly on food quality and affordability while making a 鈥済reater emotional connection鈥� with consumers, he said.

To improve store efficiency and service times, U.S. stores are undergoing what he called a 鈥渞eset.鈥� This is a focus on staffing, scheduling and positioning to make sure crews are ready, especially during peak hours. The new High Density Kitchen prep tables the chain has talked about for the last year will be in all U.S. units by mid-year. These should help speed preparation and allow for future addition of new toppings for sandwiches.

But Thompson repeated that McDonald鈥檚 will not return to introducing too many LTOs that slow service. This has been a problem in Germany but a new strategy calls for a focus on core products as in the U.S.

It鈥檚 noteworthy that one of the LTOs that did not do well enough to lift Q1 sales was the February return of Mighty Wings at a lower price. The Bacon Clubhouse burger arrived on March 10.

Thompson said McDonald鈥檚 suspended operations in three stores in Crimea because of a suspension of financial and banking services. Operations in Russia continue to be among the chain鈥檚 most profitable although a 14% decline in the ruble led to higher commodity costs that depressed earnings there.