ISRG vs MCD: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. and McDonald's Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-22.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. · Healthcare
$451.29
+130.4% upside to fair value
Grade B
High Quality
VS
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$305.68
+4.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
ISRG has more upside to fair value
(+130.4%).
MCD trades at a lower forward P/E
(24.5x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
ISRG |
MCD |
| Current Price |
$451.29 |
$305.68 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$1,039.74 |
$320.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+130.4%
|
+4.7%
|
| Market Cap |
$160.3B |
$218.1B |
| Forward P/E |
53.8x
|
24.5x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
40.5x
|
18.6x
|
| Price / Sales |
15.2x
|
8.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
64.3x
|
30.3x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+23.0%
|
+3.7%
|
| Gross Margin |
66.3%
|
57.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
30.5%
|
46.1%
|
| Return on Equity |
17.0%
|
—
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
2.4% |
| FCF Yield |
1.55%
|
3.3%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is a leading healthcare company specializing in robotic-assisted surgery through its flagship da Vinci system, which has established a durable competitive moat with approximately 10,000 systems installed globally and nearly 17 million procedures performed by the end of 2024. The company benefits from a high-quality business model characterized by 85% recurring revenue, st…
McDonald's operates the world's largest quick-service restaurant franchise with over 40,000 locations across 100+ countries, generating $26.9B in FY2025 revenue with roughly 60% from franchised operations. The asset-light franchise model produces 46% operating margins and $7.2B in annual free cash flow. Revenue growth reaccelerated modestly to 3.7% in FY2025 from 1.7% in FY2024, driven by the Int…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
ISRG |
MCD |
| Zone Low |
$779.81 |
$240.00 |
| Zone High |
$883.78 |
$272.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
No
|