FY2026 EPS Estimates for McDonald’s Lowered by Analyst

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for McDonald’s in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now anticipates that the fast-food giant will post earnings of $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.

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

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $298.56 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.14. The company has a market cap of $213.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,612,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $1,394,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after purchasing an additional 51,210 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 17.1% during the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 49,318 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $15,018,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % 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 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.