CHICAGO — McDonald's Corp. extended its hot streak to four years with a 22 percent jump in first-quarter earnings, and also said yesterday it will sell nearly 1,600 restaurants in Latin America and the Caribbean to a franchisee — a gain it pledged to return to shareholders.

The announcement sent the fast-food leader's shares briefly to an all-time high of $49.70 before they dipped in profit-taking. The once-stagnant stock has quadrupled since falling to $12.12 in March 2003.

The planned transaction involving restaurants in 18 countries will result in a non-cash impairment charge of $1.6 billion in the second quarter. But it reduces the company's financial exposure in a challenging region and will net McDonald's about $700 million in cash, which it said will be used to increase share buybacks and dividends.

Analysts hailed the sale, which had been expected as McDonald's pares the number of company-owned restaurants worldwide, and said they saw no signs the company's resurgence is running out of steam.

Boosted by surging sales in Europe and strong demand for its changing U.S. menu, McDonald's is "firing on all cylinders," Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Kron said in a note to investors.

Shares in the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company fell 43 cents to close at $48.35 on the New York Stock Exchange, remaining up more than 50 percent since last June.

Profit for the first three months of the year was $762 million, or 62 cents per share, matching its April 13 estimate. That was up from $625 million, or 49 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Revenue rose 11 percent to $5.46 billion from $4.91 billion.

The results were in keeping with a preliminary announcement by the company last week.

McDonald's has recorded 48 straight months of higher sales from its established restaurants, its longest such streak since 1980.

First-quarter results were lifted by a particularly strong March.

The U.S. business, its largest market with about 13,800 restaurants, extended a run of unusually strong results in the quarter with a string of new products including snack wraps, more salads and premium coffee, all introduced within the last year.