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MCD

Key Considerations Before Investing in MCD Stock

Now trading at a price of $275.74, McDonald's has moved -2.8% so far today.

McDonald's returned losses of -9.6% last year, with its stock price reaching a high of $341.75 and a low of $274.83. Over the same period, the stock underperformed the S&P 500 index by -39.2%. AThe company's 50-day average price was $309.95. McDonald's Corporation owns, operates, and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. Based in Chicago, IL, the Large-Cap Consumer Discretionary company has 150,000 full time employees. McDonald's has offered a 1.9% dividend yield over the last 12 months.

Growing Revenues but Not Enough Current Assets to Cover Current Liabilities:

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Revenue (M) $19,208 $23,223 $23,183 $25,494 $25,920 $26,885
Operating Margins 38% 45% 40% 46% 45% 46%
Net Margins 25% 32% 27% 33% 32% 32%
Net Income (M) $4,730 $7,545 $6,177 $8,469 $8,223 $8,563
Net Interest Expense (M) $1,218 $1,186 $1,207 $1,361 $1,506 $1,582
Depreciation & Amort. (M) $1,469 $1,531 $1,454 $1,502 $1,500 $1,600
Diluted Shares (M) 750 752 741 732 722 716
Earnings Per Share $6.31 $10.04 $8.33 $11.56 $11.39 $11.95
EPS Growth n/a 59.11% -17.03% 38.78% -1.47% 4.92%
Avg. Price $187.58 $224.47 $240.98 $296.51 $288.76 $284.1
P/E Ratio 29.54 22.2 28.72 25.5 25.22 23.68
Free Cash Flow (M) $4,624 $7,102 $5,488 $7,255 $6,672 $7,186
CAPEX (M) $1,641 $2,040 $1,899 $2,357 $2,775 $3,365
EV / EBITDA 19.93 16.68 19.63 19.31 18.61 17.31
Total Debt (M) $38,840 $35,623 $35,904 $41,537 $38,424 $39,973
Net Debt / EBITDA 4.02 2.6 3.08 2.81 2.83 2.8
Current Ratio 1.01 1.78 1.43 1.16 1.19 0.95

McDonald's has growing revenues and increasing reinvestment in the business and strong operating margins with a stable trend. Additionally, the company's financial statements display a strong EPS growth trend and generally positive cash flows. However, the firm has not enough current assets to cover current liabilities because its current ratio is 0.95. Finally, we note that McDonald's has significant leverage levels.

McDonald's's Valuation Is in Line With Its Sector Averages:

McDonald's has a trailing twelve month P/E ratio of 25.5, compared to an average of 20.93 for the Consumer Discretionary sector. Based on its EPS guidance of $14.24, the company has a forward P/E ratio of 21.8. The 12.3% compound average growth rate of McDonald's's historical and projected earnings per share yields a PEG ratio of 2.07. This suggests that these shares are overvalued.

McDonald's Has an Average Rating of Buy:

The 33 analysts following McDonald's have set target prices ranging from $250.0 to $407.0 per share, for an average of $344.55 with a buy rating.

McDonald's has a very low short interest because 1.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Institutions own 75.9% of the company's shares, and the insider ownership rate stands at 0.28%, suggesting a small amount of insider investors. The largest shareholder is Vanguard Group Inc, whose 10% stake in the company is worth $19,950,099,052.

The above analysis is intended for educational purposes only and was performed on the basis of publicly available data. It is not to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any buy, sell, or other recommendations mentioned in the article are direct quotations of consensus recommendations from the analysts covering the stock, and do not represent the opinions of Market Inference or its writers. Past performance, accounting data, and inferences about market position and corporate valuation are not reliable indicators of future price movements. Market Inference does not provide financial advice. Investors should conduct their own review and analysis of any company of interest before making an investment decision.

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