comparable sales and comparable guest counts are key performance indicators used within the retail industry and are indicative of the impact of the company 's initiatives as well as local economic and consumer trends . increases or decreases in comparable sales and comparable guest counts represent the percent change in sales and transactions , respectively , from the same period in the prior year for all restaurants , whether operated by the company or franchisees , in operation at least thirteen months , including those temporarily closed . some of the reasons restaurants may be temporarily closed include reimaging or remodeling , rebuilding , road construction and natural disasters . comparable sales exclude the impact of currency translation , and , beginning in 2017 , also exclude sales from venezuela due to its hyper-inflation . management generally identifies hyper-inflationary markets as those markets whose cumulative inflation rate over a three-year period exceeds 100 % . comparable sales are driven by changes in guest counts and average check , which is affected by changes in pricing and product mix . typically , pricing has a greater impact on average check than product mix . the goal is to achieve a relatively balanced contribution from both guest counts and average check . systemwide sales include sales at all restaurants . while franchised sales are not recorded as revenues by the company , management believes the information is important in understanding the company 's financial performance because these sales are the basis on which the company calculates and records franchised revenues and are indicative of the financial health of the franchisee base . roiic is a measure reviewed by management over one-year and three-year time periods to evaluate the overall profitability of the markets , the effectiveness of capital deployed and the future allocation of capital . the return is calculated by dividing the change in operating income plus 14 mcdonald 's corporation 2017 annual report depreciation and amortization ( numerator ) by the cash used for investing activities ( denominator ) , primarily capital expenditures . the calculation uses a constant average foreign exchange rate over the periods included in the calculation . free cash flow , defined as cash provided by operations less capital expenditures , and free cash flow conversion rate , defined as free cash flow divided by net income , are measures reviewed by management in order to evaluate the company 's ability to convert net profits into cash resources , after reinvesting in the core business , that can be used to pursue opportunities to enhance shareholder value . strategic direction and financial performance the strength of the alignment among the company , its franchisees and suppliers ( collectively referred to as the `` system `` ) is key to mcdonald 's long-term success . by leveraging the system , mcdonald 's is able to identify , implement and scale ideas that meet customers ' changing needs and preferences . mcdonald 's continually builds on its competitive advantages of system alignment and geographic diversification to deliver consistent , yet locally-relevant restaurant experiences to customers as an integral part of their communities . customer-centric growth strategy beginning in 2015 , the company made purposeful changes to execute against key elements of its turnaround plan including a renewed focus on running better restaurants , driving operational growth , returning excitement to the brand and enhancing financial value . the company 's current momentum is broad-based throughout the system and its recent performance demonstrates that mcdonald 's has completed the transition from turnaround to growth . in 2017 , the company shifted its focus to delivering long-term growth through accelerated execution of its customer-centric strategy - the velocity growth plan . this plan outlines actions to drive sustainable guest count growth , a reliable long-term measure of the company 's strength , that is vital to growing sales and shareholder value . the velocity growth plan is rooted in extensive customer research and insights , along with a deep understanding of the key drivers of the business . the company is targeting the tremendous opportunity at the core of its business - its food , value and customer experience . the strategy is built on the following three pillars , all focusing on building a better mcdonald 's : retaining existing customers - focusing on areas where it already has a strong foothold in the ieo category , including family occasions and food-led breakfast . regaining lost customers - recommitting to areas of historic strength , namely food taste and quality , convenience and value . converting casual to committed customers - building stronger relationships with customers so they visit more often , by elevating and leveraging the mccafé coffee brand and enhancing snack and treat offerings . in each pillar , mcdonald 's has established sustainable platforms that enable execution of the plan with greater speed , efficiency and impact while remaining relentlessly focused on the fundamentals of running great restaurants . additionally , through three identified growth accelerators - experience of the future ( “ eotf ” ) , digital and delivery - mcdonald 's is enhancing the overall customer experience with hospitable , friendly service and ever-improving convenience for customers on their terms . the company met aggressive deployment targets for each one of these accelerators in 2017 and continues further implementation in 2018 and beyond . experience of the future . the company continues to build upon its investments in eotf , focusing on restaurant modernization and technology , in order to transform the restaurant service experience and enhance the brand in the eyes of the customer . the modernization efforts are designed to drive incremental customer visits and higher average check . mcdonald 's currently has eotf deployed in about one-third of the restaurants globally , with half of the u.s. restaurants expected to be deployed by the end of 2018. digital . story_separator_special_tag international lead markets : in 2017 and 2016 , the increases in the company-operated margin percent were primarily due to positive comparable sales , partly offset by higher labor and occupancy costs . 2017 was also negatively impacted by higher commodity costs . high growth markets : in 2017 , the increase in the company-operated margin percent was primarily due to strong comparable sales and the benefit of lower depreciation in china and hong kong . this increase was partly offset by negative comparable sales in south korea and the impact of refranchising . in 2016 , the increase was primarily due to positive comparable sales and improved restaurant profitability in china , which benefited from value-added tax ( `` vat `` ) reform , partly offset by higher labor costs across the segment . 22 mcdonald 's corporation 2017 annual report selling , general & administrative expenses consolidated selling , general and administrative expenses decreased 6 % ( 7 % in constant currencies ) in 2017 and decreased 2 % ( 1 % in constant currencies ) in 2016 . the decrease in 2017 was due to lower employee-related costs , partly offset by higher restaurant technology spending . the decrease in 2016 was primarily due to lower employee-related costs , mostly offset by higher incentive-based compensation expenses . selling , general & administrative expenses replace_table_token_12_th ( 1 ) included in foundational markets & corporate are home office support costs in areas such as facilities , finance , human resources , information technology , legal , marketing , restaurant operations , supply chain and training . ( 2 ) includes all cash incentives and share-based compensation expense . ( 3 ) excludes $ 9.4 million of foreign currency cost . ( 4 ) excludes $ 24.8 million of foreign currency benefit . selling , general and administrative expenses as a percent of systemwide sales was 2.5 % in 2017 , 2.8 % in 2016 and 2.9 % in 2015 . management believes that analyzing selling , general and administrative expenses as a percent of systemwide sales is meaningful because these costs are incurred to support the overall mcdonald 's business . in connection with our turnaround plan , the company established a net selling , general and administrative savings target of $ 500 million from its g & a base of $ 2.6 billion at the beginning of 2015. the company expects to fully realize its targeted $ 500 million of net savings in 2019. other operating ( income ) expense , net other operating ( income ) expense , net replace_table_token_13_th gains on sales of restaurant businesses in 2017 , gains on sales of restaurant businesses remained relatively flat . in 2016 , the company realized higher gains on sales of restaurant businesses , primarily in the u.s. equity in ( earnings ) losses of unconsolidated affiliates equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates improved in 2017 and 2016 mainly due to improved performance in japan . 2017 results also benefited from the reversal of a valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset in japan . asset dispositions and other ( income ) expense , net in 2017 , results benefited due to a property disposition gain in australia . in 2015 , results included a gain of $ 135 million on the strategic sale of a unique restaurant property in the u.s. , mostly offset by asset write-offs of $ 72 million resulting from the decision to close under-performing restaurants , primarily in the u.s. and china . impairment and other charges ( gains ) , net in 2017 , results reflected the gain on the company 's sale of its businesses in china and hong kong of approximately $ 850 million , partly offset by $ 111 million of unrelated non-cash impairment charges . the results for all three years included restructuring and impairment charges related to the company 's global refranchising and g & a initiatives . mcdonald 's corporation 2017 annual report 23 operating income operating income replace_table_token_14_th u.s. : in 2017 , the increase in operating income reflected higher franchised margin dollars and g & a savings , partly offset by lower company-operated margin dollars . in 2016 , the increase reflected higher franchised margin dollars and higher gains from sales of restaurant businesses , partly offset by the negative impact from lapping the 2015 gain on the strategic sale of a unique restaurant property . international lead markets : in 2017 and 2016 , the constant currency operating income increase was primarily due to sales-driven improvements in franchised margin dollars . in addition , 2017 benefited from a property disposition gain in australia . high growth markets : in 2017 , the constant currency operating income increase reflected higher franchise margin dollars due to sales-driven performance , the impact of refranchising and g & a savings . in addition , results benefited from lower depreciation expense in china and hong kong , and also includes the gain on the sale of the company 's businesses in china and hong kong as well as unrelated non-cash impairment charges . excluding these items , operating income increased 17 % ( 15 % in constant currencies ) . in 2016 , the increase was driven primarily by improved restaurant profitability in china . foundational markets and corporate : in 2017 , the constant currency operating income increase reflected the company 's refranchising initiatives , higher g & a costs at the corporate level due to restaurant technology expenditures , and improved performance in japan , which enabled the reversal of a valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset in japan . results also reflected the benefit from comparison to the prior year 's strategic charges . in 2016 , the increase reflected japan 's strong performance , partly offset by the net impact of the current and prior year impairment and restructuring charges from the company 's global refranchising and restructuring initiatives . operating margin operating

cash provided by operations was $ 5.6 billion . capital expenditures of $ 1.9 billion were allocated mainly to reinvestment in existing restaurants and , to a lesser extent , to new restaurant openings . across the system , about 900 restaurants ( including those in our developmental licensee and affiliated markets ) were opened . free cash flow was $ 3.7 billion ( see reconciliation in exhibit 12 ) . one-year roiic was 1,671.8 % and three-year roiic was 93.1 % for the period ended december 31 , 2017 . excluding the gain from the sale of businesses in china and hong kong , as well as significant investing cash inflows from strategic refranchising initiatives , one year and three year roiic were 48.3 % and 43.6 % , respectively ( see reconciliation in exhibit 12 ) . the company increased its quarterly cash dividend per share by 7 % to $ 1.01 for the fourth quarter , equivalent to an annual dividend of $ 4.04 per share . the company returned $ 7.7 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends for the year . 16 mcdonald 's corporation 2017 annual report areas of focus by segment u.s. the u.s. remains diligent in driving guest count growth momentum in 2018 by continuing to focus on actions that collectively transform the customer experience . with the launch of the $ 1 $ 2 $ 3 dollar menu in january 2018 , the company is offering a compelling , national value program that resonates with customers . additionally , an emphasis on food taste and quality will remain a key priority . in 2018 , the u.s. is planning to introduce fresh beef across the majority of its restaurants , cooked right when ordered and served hot off the grill for all quarter pounder burgers . the u.s. will also offer new seasonal flavors to further expand the mccafé espresso line in 2018 , following its successful relaunch of mccafé in 2017. the pace of activity in the u.s. remains accelerated with a focus on increasing customer awareness of its global mobile application , mobile order and pay functionality as well as its delivery platform .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```cash provided by operations was $ 5.6 billion . capital expenditures of $ 1.9 billion were allocated mainly to reinvestment in existing restaurants and , to a lesser extent , to new restaurant openings . across the system , about 900 restaurants ( including those in our developmental licensee and affiliated markets ) were opened . free cash flow was $ 3.7 billion ( see reconciliation in exhibit 12 ) . one-year roiic was 1,671.8 % and three-year roiic was 93.1 % for the period ended december 31 , 2017 . excluding the gain from the sale of businesses in china and hong kong , as well as significant investing cash inflows from strategic refranchising initiatives , one year and three year roiic were 48.3 % and 43.6 % , respectively ( see reconciliation in exhibit 12 ) . the company increased its quarterly cash dividend per share by 7 % to $ 1.01 for the fourth quarter , equivalent to an annual dividend of $ 4.04 per share . the company returned $ 7.7 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends for the year . 16 mcdonald 's corporation 2017 annual report areas of focus by segment u.s. the u.s. remains diligent in driving guest count growth momentum in 2018 by continuing to focus on actions that collectively transform the customer experience . with the launch of the $ 1 $ 2 $ 3 dollar menu in january 2018 , the company is offering a compelling , national value program that resonates with customers . additionally , an emphasis on food taste and quality will remain a key priority . in 2018 , the u.s. is planning to introduce fresh beef across the majority of its restaurants , cooked right when ordered and served hot off the grill for all quarter pounder burgers . the u.s. will also offer new seasonal flavors to further expand the mccafé espresso line in 2018 , following its successful relaunch of mccafé in 2017. the pace of activity in the u.s. remains accelerated with a focus on increasing customer awareness of its global mobile application , mobile order and pay functionality as well as its delivery platform .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : comparable sales and comparable guest counts are key performance indicators used within the retail industry and are indicative of the impact of the company 's initiatives as well as local economic and consumer trends . increases or decreases in comparable sales and comparable guest counts represent the percent change in sales and transactions , respectively , from the same period in the prior year for all restaurants , whether operated by the company or franchisees , in operation at least thirteen months , including those temporarily closed . some of the reasons restaurants may be temporarily closed include reimaging or remodeling , rebuilding , road construction and natural disasters . comparable sales exclude the impact of currency translation , and , beginning in 2017 , also exclude sales from venezuela due to its hyper-inflation . management generally identifies hyper-inflationary markets as those markets whose cumulative inflation rate over a three-year period exceeds 100 % . comparable sales are driven by changes in guest counts and average check , which is affected by changes in pricing and product mix . typically , pricing has a greater impact on average check than product mix . the goal is to achieve a relatively balanced contribution from both guest counts and average check . systemwide sales include sales at all restaurants . while franchised sales are not recorded as revenues by the company , management believes the information is important in understanding the company 's financial performance because these sales are the basis on which the company calculates and records franchised revenues and are indicative of the financial health of the franchisee base . roiic is a measure reviewed by management over one-year and three-year time periods to evaluate the overall profitability of the markets , the effectiveness of capital deployed and the future allocation of capital . the return is calculated by dividing the change in operating income plus 14 mcdonald 's corporation 2017 annual report depreciation and amortization ( numerator ) by the cash used for investing activities ( denominator ) , primarily capital expenditures . the calculation uses a constant average foreign exchange rate over the periods included in the calculation . free cash flow , defined as cash provided by operations less capital expenditures , and free cash flow conversion rate , defined as free cash flow divided by net income , are measures reviewed by management in order to evaluate the company 's ability to convert net profits into cash resources , after reinvesting in the core business , that can be used to pursue opportunities to enhance shareholder value . strategic direction and financial performance the strength of the alignment among the company , its franchisees and suppliers ( collectively referred to as the `` system `` ) is key to mcdonald 's long-term success . by leveraging the system , mcdonald 's is able to identify , implement and scale ideas that meet customers ' changing needs and preferences . mcdonald 's continually builds on its competitive advantages of system alignment and geographic diversification to deliver consistent , yet locally-relevant restaurant experiences to customers as an integral part of their communities . customer-centric growth strategy beginning in 2015 , the company made purposeful changes to execute against key elements of its turnaround plan including a renewed focus on running better restaurants , driving operational growth , returning excitement to the brand and enhancing financial value . the company 's current momentum is broad-based throughout the system and its recent performance demonstrates that mcdonald 's has completed the transition from turnaround to growth . in 2017 , the company shifted its focus to delivering long-term growth through accelerated execution of its customer-centric strategy - the velocity growth plan . this plan outlines actions to drive sustainable guest count growth , a reliable long-term measure of the company 's strength , that is vital to growing sales and shareholder value . the velocity growth plan is rooted in extensive customer research and insights , along with a deep understanding of the key drivers of the business . the company is targeting the tremendous opportunity at the core of its business - its food , value and customer experience . the strategy is built on the following three pillars , all focusing on building a better mcdonald 's : retaining existing customers - focusing on areas where it already has a strong foothold in the ieo category , including family occasions and food-led breakfast . regaining lost customers - recommitting to areas of historic strength , namely food taste and quality , convenience and value . converting casual to committed customers - building stronger relationships with customers so they visit more often , by elevating and leveraging the mccafé coffee brand and enhancing snack and treat offerings . in each pillar , mcdonald 's has established sustainable platforms that enable execution of the plan with greater speed , efficiency and impact while remaining relentlessly focused on the fundamentals of running great restaurants . additionally , through three identified growth accelerators - experience of the future ( “ eotf ” ) , digital and delivery - mcdonald 's is enhancing the overall customer experience with hospitable , friendly service and ever-improving convenience for customers on their terms . the company met aggressive deployment targets for each one of these accelerators in 2017 and continues further implementation in 2018 and beyond . experience of the future . the company continues to build upon its investments in eotf , focusing on restaurant modernization and technology , in order to transform the restaurant service experience and enhance the brand in the eyes of the customer . the modernization efforts are designed to drive incremental customer visits and higher average check . mcdonald 's currently has eotf deployed in about one-third of the restaurants globally , with half of the u.s. restaurants expected to be deployed by the end of 2018. digital . story_separator_special_tag international lead markets : in 2017 and 2016 , the increases in the company-operated margin percent were primarily due to positive comparable sales , partly offset by higher labor and occupancy costs . 2017 was also negatively impacted by higher commodity costs . high growth markets : in 2017 , the increase in the company-operated margin percent was primarily due to strong comparable sales and the benefit of lower depreciation in china and hong kong . this increase was partly offset by negative comparable sales in south korea and the impact of refranchising . in 2016 , the increase was primarily due to positive comparable sales and improved restaurant profitability in china , which benefited from value-added tax ( `` vat `` ) reform , partly offset by higher labor costs across the segment . 22 mcdonald 's corporation 2017 annual report selling , general & administrative expenses consolidated selling , general and administrative expenses decreased 6 % ( 7 % in constant currencies ) in 2017 and decreased 2 % ( 1 % in constant currencies ) in 2016 . the decrease in 2017 was due to lower employee-related costs , partly offset by higher restaurant technology spending . the decrease in 2016 was primarily due to lower employee-related costs , mostly offset by higher incentive-based compensation expenses . selling , general & administrative expenses replace_table_token_12_th ( 1 ) included in foundational markets & corporate are home office support costs in areas such as facilities , finance , human resources , information technology , legal , marketing , restaurant operations , supply chain and training . ( 2 ) includes all cash incentives and share-based compensation expense . ( 3 ) excludes $ 9.4 million of foreign currency cost . ( 4 ) excludes $ 24.8 million of foreign currency benefit . selling , general and administrative expenses as a percent of systemwide sales was 2.5 % in 2017 , 2.8 % in 2016 and 2.9 % in 2015 . management believes that analyzing selling , general and administrative expenses as a percent of systemwide sales is meaningful because these costs are incurred to support the overall mcdonald 's business . in connection with our turnaround plan , the company established a net selling , general and administrative savings target of $ 500 million from its g & a base of $ 2.6 billion at the beginning of 2015. the company expects to fully realize its targeted $ 500 million of net savings in 2019. other operating ( income ) expense , net other operating ( income ) expense , net replace_table_token_13_th gains on sales of restaurant businesses in 2017 , gains on sales of restaurant businesses remained relatively flat . in 2016 , the company realized higher gains on sales of restaurant businesses , primarily in the u.s. equity in ( earnings ) losses of unconsolidated affiliates equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates improved in 2017 and 2016 mainly due to improved performance in japan . 2017 results also benefited from the reversal of a valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset in japan . asset dispositions and other ( income ) expense , net in 2017 , results benefited due to a property disposition gain in australia . in 2015 , results included a gain of $ 135 million on the strategic sale of a unique restaurant property in the u.s. , mostly offset by asset write-offs of $ 72 million resulting from the decision to close under-performing restaurants , primarily in the u.s. and china . impairment and other charges ( gains ) , net in 2017 , results reflected the gain on the company 's sale of its businesses in china and hong kong of approximately $ 850 million , partly offset by $ 111 million of unrelated non-cash impairment charges . the results for all three years included restructuring and impairment charges related to the company 's global refranchising and g & a initiatives . mcdonald 's corporation 2017 annual report 23 operating income operating income replace_table_token_14_th u.s. : in 2017 , the increase in operating income reflected higher franchised margin dollars and g & a savings , partly offset by lower company-operated margin dollars . in 2016 , the increase reflected higher franchised margin dollars and higher gains from sales of restaurant businesses , partly offset by the negative impact from lapping the 2015 gain on the strategic sale of a unique restaurant property . international lead markets : in 2017 and 2016 , the constant currency operating income increase was primarily due to sales-driven improvements in franchised margin dollars . in addition , 2017 benefited from a property disposition gain in australia . high growth markets : in 2017 , the constant currency operating income increase reflected higher franchise margin dollars due to sales-driven performance , the impact of refranchising and g & a savings . in addition , results benefited from lower depreciation expense in china and hong kong , and also includes the gain on the sale of the company 's businesses in china and hong kong as well as unrelated non-cash impairment charges . excluding these items , operating income increased 17 % ( 15 % in constant currencies ) . in 2016 , the increase was driven primarily by improved restaurant profitability in china . foundational markets and corporate : in 2017 , the constant currency operating income increase reflected the company 's refranchising initiatives , higher g & a costs at the corporate level due to restaurant technology expenditures , and improved performance in japan , which enabled the reversal of a valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset in japan . results also reflected the benefit from comparison to the prior year 's strategic charges . in 2016 , the increase reflected japan 's strong performance , partly offset by the net impact of the current and prior year impairment and restructuring charges from the company 's global refranchising and restructuring initiatives . operating margin operating

