DHR vs MCD: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Danaher Corporation and McDonald's Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-23.
Danaher Corporation · Healthcare
$221.12
+29.6% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
High Quality
VS
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$252.78
+40.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade A
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MCD has more upside to fair value
(+40.7%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
DHR |
MCD |
| Current Price |
$221.12 |
$252.78 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$286.52 |
$355.71 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+29.6%
|
+40.7%
|
| Market Cap |
$155.4B |
$179.6B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
24.8x
|
15.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
6.2x
|
6.5x
|
| Price / FCF |
28.5x
|
23.1x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+5.5%
|
+3.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
58.5%
|
57.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
20.4%
|
45.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
7.7%
|
-561.2%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.65% |
2.94% |
| FCF Yield |
3.51%
|
4.32%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Danaher is a diversified life-sciences and diagnostics platform spanning three segments: Life Sciences (mass spectrometers, flow cytometry, genomics, bioprocess technologies), Diagnostics (chemistry, immunoassay, microbiology, hematology, molecular and pathology systems), and Environmental & Applied Solutions (water quality and product-identification instrumentation). The business quality is high…
McDonald's operates a globally scaled, approximately 95% franchised restaurant system with 46,028 restaurants in more than 100 countries, combining a powerful consumer brand, real-estate-backed franchise economics, supplier scale and digital loyalty reach. Business quality is high despite meaningful leverage: TTM gross, operating and net margins are 57.4%, 45.8% and 31.7%, respectively, while loy…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
DHR |
MCD |
| Zone Low |
$214.89 |
$266.78 |
| Zone High |
$243.54 |
$302.35 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|