McDonald's (MCD) closed at $246.52 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.59% move from the prior day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.28% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.02%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.02%.
The world's biggest hamburger chain's shares have seen a decrease of 2.1% over the last month, not keeping up with the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 4.46% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.67%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of McDonald's in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on November 4, 2026. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.37, up 4.66% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $7.28 billion, up 2.88% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $12.84 per share and a revenue of $28.17 billion, representing changes of +5.25% and +4.76%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for McDonald's. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.27% lower. Right now, McDonald's possesses a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
In terms of valuation, McDonald's is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.9. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 20.83, which means McDonald's is trading at a discount to the group.
Also, we should mention that MCD has a PEG ratio of 2.72. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. MCD's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.78 as of yesterday's close.
The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 89, finds itself in the top 37% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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McDonald's Corporation (MCD): Free Stock Analysis Report
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