McDonald's Corp
MCD—
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McDonald's Corp AI Insights
Informational only. Not investment advice.Snapshot
- Negative equity (-2.2B) with 55.8B debt - franchise model generates cash without balance sheet assets, but leverage is extreme at 3.9x EBITDA[Total Equity]
- Operating margin 46.1% TTM vs industry median 5.1% - 9x advantage reflects asset-light franchise royalty stream[Operating Margin]
- FCF of 7.4B TTM (28% of revenue) funds 7.08 dividend per share while debt/EBITDA remains manageable[Free Cash Flow]
Watch Triggers
- Interest Expense: Exceeds 1.8B annually or >15% of operating income — Debt service consuming margin signals leverage becoming unsustainable
- Operating Margin: Falls below 40% for two consecutive quarters — Would indicate franchise model economics deteriorating
- Free Cash Flow: Drops below dividend payout (5.1B annually) — Dividend sustainability requires FCF coverage; currently 1.4x covered
Bull Case
Unmatched margin structure: 46% operating margin with minimal inventory (55M) creates predictable cash machine generating 7.4B FCF annually
Operating MarginFree Cash FlowInventory
Global brand moat enables consistent pricing power - 26.3B revenue at 32% net margin vs industry median 2.2%
Net MarginTotal Revenue
Bear Case
Extreme leverage: 55.8B total debt with negative equity (-2.2B) and 1.6B annual interest expense limits flexibility in downturn
Total DebtTotal EquityInterest Expense
Premium valuation: P/E 25.9x (vs industry 19.3x) and P/S 8.4x (vs 0.9x) prices in perfection with limited upside
P/E RatioP/S Ratio
Bull vs Bear Balance
AI-generated sentiment analysis based on fundamental metrics and market conditions.
55%
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Forward Thesis
Franchise royalty model sustains 45%+ operating margins despite macro headwinds
1-3yhigh
- 95%+ franchised stores shift capex/labor risk to operators
- Rent + royalty streams provide recurring revenue base
- Menu price increases pass through with minimal volume loss
Operating margin 46.1% TTM, 9x industry medianCapex only 3.1B vs 10.5B operating cash flow TTMNet margin 32% vs industry 2.2%
Valuation Context
Caveats
Public Strategies Rankings
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MCD Fundamentals
Accommodation and Food Services → Food Services and Drinking Places
| Metric | Value | YoY Growth | Industry Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
$219.88B | — | ||
$273.29B | — | ||
26 | — | ||
$26.27B | +1.3% | — | |
$11.72 | +1.6% | — | |
46.1% | +0.6% | — | |
32.0% | +0.2% | — | |
$7.37B | +12.0% | — | |
0% | — | ||
Beta 5Y (Monthly) | unknown | — |
MCD Dividend History
81 dividends
2026
$1.860003/03/26$1.8600
2025
$7.170012/01/25$1.8600
09/02/25$1.7700
06/02/25$1.7700
03/03/25$1.7700
2024
$6.780012/02/24$1.7700
09/03/24$1.6700
06/03/24$1.6700
02/29/24$1.6700
2023
$6.230011/30/23$1.6700
08/31/23$1.5200
06/02/23$1.5200
02/28/23$1.5200
2022
$5.660011/30/22$1.5200
08/31/22$1.3800
06/03/22$1.3800
02/28/22$1.3800
2021
$5.250011/30/21$1.3800
08/31/21$1.2900
05/28/21$1.2900
02/26/21$1.2900
2020
$5.040011/30/20$1.2900
08/31/20$1.2500
05/29/20$1.2500
02/28/20$1.2500
2019
$4.730011/29/19$1.2500
08/30/19$1.1600
05/31/19$1.1600
02/28/19$1.1600
2018
$4.190011/30/18$1.1600
08/31/18$1.0100
06/01/18$1.0100
02/28/18$1.0100
2017
$3.830011/30/17$1.0100
08/30/17$0.9400
06/01/17$0.9400
02/27/17$0.9400
2016
$3.610011/29/16$0.9400
08/30/16$0.8900
06/02/16$0.8900
02/26/16$0.8900
2015
$3.440011/27/15$0.8900
08/28/15$0.8500
05/28/15$0.8500
02/26/15$0.8500
2014
$3.280011/26/14$0.8500
08/28/14$0.8100
05/29/14$0.8100
02/27/14$0.8100
2013
$3.120011/27/13$0.8100
08/29/13$0.7700
05/30/13$0.7700
02/27/13$0.7700
2012
$2.870011/29/12$0.7700
08/30/12$0.7000
05/31/12$0.7000
02/28/12$0.7000
2011
$2.530011/29/11$0.7000
08/30/11$0.6100
05/27/11$0.6100
02/25/11$0.6100
2010
$2.260011/29/10$0.6100
08/30/10$0.5500
05/27/10$0.5500
02/25/10$0.5500
2009
$2.050011/27/09$0.5500
08/28/09$0.5000
06/04/09$0.5000
02/26/09$0.5000
2008
$1.625011/26/08$0.5000
08/28/08$0.3750
06/05/08$0.3750
02/28/08$0.3750
2007
$1.500011/13/07$1.5000
2006
$1.000011/13/06$1.0000
2005
$0.670011/10/05$0.6700
2004
$0.550011/10/04$0.5500
2003
$0.400011/12/03$0.4000
2002
$0.235011/13/02$0.2350
2001
$0.225011/13/01$0.2250
2000
$0.215011/13/00$0.2150
MCD Stock Splits
No stock splits
MCD SEC Filings
| Filing Date | Report Date | Report Type | Filing Link |
|---|---|---|---|
11/05/25 | 09/30/25 | 10-Q | |
08/06/25 | 06/30/25 | 10-Q | |
05/12/25 | 03/31/25 | 10-Q | |
02/25/25 | 12/31/24 | Unknown | |
11/07/24 | 09/30/24 | 10-Q | |
08/08/24 | 06/30/24 | 10-Q | |
05/08/24 | 03/31/24 | 10-Q | |
02/22/24 | 12/31/23 | 10-K | |
11/02/23 | 09/30/23 | 10-Q | |
08/02/23 | 06/30/23 | 10-Q | |
05/04/23 | 03/31/23 | 10-Q | |
02/24/23 | 12/31/22 | 10-K | |
11/07/22 | 09/30/22 | 10-Q | |
08/04/22 | 06/30/22 | 10-Q | |
05/02/22 | 03/31/22 | 10-Q | |
02/24/22 | 12/31/21 | 10-K | |
11/02/21 | 09/30/21 | 10-Q | |
08/04/21 | 06/30/21 | 10-Q | |
05/05/21 | 03/31/21 | 10-Q | |
02/23/21 | 12/31/20 | 10-K | |
11/09/20 | 09/30/20 | 10-Q | |
08/10/20 | 06/30/20 | 10-Q | |
05/07/20 | 03/31/20 | 10-Q | |
02/26/20 | 12/31/19 | 10-K | |
11/04/19 | 09/30/19 | 10-Q | |
08/06/19 | 06/30/19 | 10-Q | |
05/08/19 | 03/31/19 | 10-Q | |
02/22/19 | 12/31/18 | 10-K | |
11/01/18 | 09/30/18 | 10-Q | |
08/02/18 | 06/30/18 | 10-Q | |
05/08/18 | 03/31/18 | 10-Q | |
02/23/18 | 12/31/17 | 10-K | |
11/02/17 | 09/30/17 | 10-Q | |
08/08/17 | 06/30/17 | 10-Q | |
05/08/17 | 03/31/17 | 10-Q | |
03/01/17 | 12/31/16 | 10-K | |
11/04/16 | 09/30/16 | 10-Q | |
08/04/16 | 06/30/16 | 10-Q | |
05/06/16 | 03/31/16 | 10-Q | |
02/25/16 | 12/31/15 | 10-K | |
11/04/15 | 09/30/15 | 10-Q | |
08/05/15 | 06/30/15 | 10-Q | |
05/07/15 | 03/31/15 | 10-Q | |
02/24/15 | 12/31/14 | 10-K | |
11/03/14 | 09/30/14 | 10-Q | |
08/04/14 | 06/30/14 | 10-Q | |
05/06/14 | 03/31/14 | 10-Q | |
02/24/14 | 12/31/13 | 10-K | |
10/30/13 | 09/30/13 | 10-Q | |
07/31/13 | 06/30/13 | 10-Q | |
05/01/13 | 03/31/13 | 10-Q | |
02/25/13 | 12/31/12 | 10-K | |
11/01/12 | 09/30/12 | 10-Q | |
08/06/12 | 06/30/12 | 10-Q | |
05/08/12 | 03/31/12 | 10-Q | |
02/24/12 | 12/31/11 | 10-K | |
11/04/11 | 09/30/11 | 10-Q | |
08/05/11 | 06/30/11 | 10-Q | |
05/06/11 | 03/31/11 | 10-Q | |
02/25/11 | 12/31/10 | 10-K | |
11/05/10 | 09/30/10 | 10-Q | |
08/05/10 | 06/30/10 | 10-Q | |
05/06/10 | 03/31/10 | 10-Q | |
02/26/10 | 12/31/09 | 10-K | |
11/05/09 | 09/30/09 | 10-Q | |
08/06/09 | 06/30/09 | 10-Q | |
05/05/09 | 03/31/09 | 10-Q | |
02/25/09 | 12/31/08 | 10-K | |
11/06/08 | 09/30/08 | 10-Q | |
08/06/08 | 06/30/08 | 10-Q | |
05/06/08 | 03/30/08 | Unknown | -- |
02/25/08 | 12/31/07 | 10-K | |
11/02/07 | 09/30/07 | 10-Q | |
08/06/07 | 06/30/07 | 10-Q | |
05/04/07 | 03/30/07 | Unknown | -- |
02/26/07 | 12/31/06 | 10-K | |
11/03/06 | 09/30/06 | 10-Q | |
08/04/06 | 06/30/06 | 10-Q | |
05/09/06 | 03/30/06 | Unknown | -- |
02/27/06 | 12/31/05 | 10-K | |
11/04/05 | 09/30/05 | 4 | |
08/05/05 | 06/30/05 | 4 | |
05/06/05 | 03/30/05 | Unknown | -- |
03/04/05 | 12/31/04 | 10-K | |
11/05/04 | 09/30/04 | 10-Q | |
08/06/04 | 06/30/04 | 4 | |
05/06/04 | 03/30/04 | Unknown | -- |
03/05/04 | 12/31/03 | 4 | |
11/07/03 | 09/30/03 | 4 | |
08/08/03 | 06/30/03 | 10-Q | |
05/13/03 | 03/30/03 | Unknown | -- |
03/12/03 | 12/31/02 | 10-K | |
11/12/02 | 09/30/02 | 10-Q | |
08/13/02 | 06/30/02 | 10-Q | |
05/10/02 | 03/30/02 | Unknown | -- |
03/25/02 | 12/31/01 | 10-K405 | |
11/09/01 | 09/30/01 | 10-Q | |
08/10/01 | 06/30/01 | 10-Q | |
05/10/01 | 03/30/01 | Unknown | -- |
03/23/01 | 12/31/00 | 10-K405 | |
11/08/00 | 09/30/00 | 10-Q | |
08/11/00 | 06/30/00 | 10-Q | |
05/08/00 | 03/30/00 | Unknown | -- |