Zacks Research Reduces Earnings Estimates for McDonald’s

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Zacks Research decreased their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for McDonald’s in a report released on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now forecasts that the fast-food giant will earn $13.48 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $13.56. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.77 per share.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $292.63 on Friday. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $209.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.42.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after purchasing an additional 220,365 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 53.9% during the third quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,511 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,896,000 after acquiring an additional 3,331 shares during the period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $1,551,000. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,465,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,215,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,080. The trade was a 17.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,550. This trade represents a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.