Fact based stock research
McDonald's (NYSE:MCD)

US5801351017

How to read the free ranks

For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

McDonald's stock research in summary

mcdonalds.comusen-us.html

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 92 (better than 92% compared with investment alternatives), McDonald's (Restaurants, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of McDonald's are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 59 (better than 59% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 67), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 78), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 92, is a strong buy recommendation based on McDonald's's financial characteristics. As the company McDonald's's key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 59), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 67), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 78), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of McDonald's. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	59
Growth Rank	67
Safety Rank	78
Combined Rank	92

Country	USA
Industry	Restaurants
Index	Dow Jones, Dividends USA, Diversity USA, S&P US Luxury, S&P 500
Size class	XX-Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

31-Jul-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: McDonald's

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	73	65	73	59
GROWTH
GROWTH	53	63	65	67
SAFETY
SAFETY	65	73	79	78
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	84	100	78	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	87	100	96	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 31-Jul-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Mar-2025. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better McDonald's is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	73	65	73	59
GROWTH
GROWTH	53	63	65	67
SAFETY
SAFETY	65	73	79	78
COMBINED
COMBINED	84	91	96	92

Last update of combined financial performance: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of McDonald's the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 59 (better than 59% compared with alternatives), McDonald's shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for McDonald's. Expected dividend yields are higher than for 79% of comparable companies (a Dividend Yield rank of 79), making the stock attractive. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 100, which means that the stock price is lower compared with invested capital than for 100% of comparable investments. But in respect to sales and profits, the picture is reversed. Price-to-Sales is 2 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than for 98% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning McDonald's's sales levels. The Price-to-Profit ratio (also referred to as price-earnings (P/E) ratio) is also unfavorable for McDonald's with a rank of 29. This means that the stock price, compared with what market professionals expect for future profits, is higher than for 71% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning McDonald's's profit levels. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 59, is a buy recommendation based on McDonald's's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. The company seems confident that it can generate a reasonable return on invested capital, because it pays an above-average dividend while profits are below what you would expect for a company with this stock price. If you agree with this practice and believe that profits will return to higher levels, as the current dividend policy suggests, McDonald's may be an attractive investment. If this is not the case, you may want to be careful with this stock as it is also expensive compared with its expected revenue levels. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is essential in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	3	3	2	2
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	42	32	44	29
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	95	94	97	100
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	78	80	78	79
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	73	65	73	59

Last update of Value Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of McDonald's; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 67 (better than 67% compared with alternatives), McDonald's shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for McDonald's. Sales Growth has a rank of 54 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 54% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 38% of competitors with a rank of 79, and Stock Returns with the rank of 65 is also an outperformance. Only Profit Growth is low with a rank of 38 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 62% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 67, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. All three operating growth indicators, namely revenue, profit, and capital growth, are showing improvements. This is a good indication of a company with a positive future. That might, at the same time, be the simple reason why profit growth is low. A growing company needs money and thus can't yet show high profit growth. Look out for signs in corporate communication about extra growth efforts costing time and money. If that is the case, McDonald's is a good growth stock. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	25	59	52	54
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	37	51	48	38
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	69	68	69	79
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	73	41	57	65
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	53	63	65	67

Last update of Growth Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of McDonald's.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 78 (better than 78% compared with alternatives) for 2025, the company McDonald's has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of McDonald's is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above-average for McDonald's. Refinancing is at 72, meaning the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 72% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at 92, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 92% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. However, Leverage is rather large at 24, which means the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 76% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 78 (better than 78% compared with alternatives), McDonald's has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. This is not bad if things go well. The higher debt level means better returns to shareholders if things go well. Many top-performing companies operate with higher debt levels, and McDonald's could be in that group. But if you expect the environment to turn rougher, the higher leverage could become a problem. The same is valid if you expect interest rates to rise. That could squeeze shareholder returns, which so far have benefitted from better conditions. In the long-term, investors may have a debt challenge with McDonald's and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	22	16	27	24
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	49	80	74	72
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	90	84	89	92
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	65	73	79	78

Last update of Safety Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of McDonald's and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	83	65	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	69	83	9	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	22	82	76	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	98	100	100	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	84	100	78	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for McDonald's.
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