LLY vs MCD: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Eli Lilly and Company and McDonald's Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-07-20.
Eli Lilly and Company · Healthcare
$1,179.09
+31.7% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A
High Quality
VS
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$267.71
+20.6% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C+
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
LLY has more upside to fair value
(+31.7%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
LLY |
MCD |
| Current Price |
$1,179.09 |
$267.71 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$1,552.32 |
$322.85 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+31.7%
|
+20.6%
|
| Market Cap |
$1,110.4B |
$190.2B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
34.3x
|
16.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
14.6x
|
6.9x
|
| Price / FCF |
77.7x
|
27.0x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+55.5%
|
+9.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
83.5%
|
57.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
45.9%
|
46.0%
|
| Return on Equity |
101.3%
|
-433.9%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.55% |
2.75% |
| FCF Yield |
1.29%
|
3.7%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Eli Lilly is a global biopharma company whose exceptionally profitable cardiometabolic franchises, led by Mounjaro and Zepbound, are driving a high-quality growth phase: revenue rose 55.5% year over year and earnings rose 168.0% year over year in the most recent quarter, while gross, operating, and net margins were 83.5%, 45.9%, and 35.0%, respectively. Business quality is high because tirzepatid…
McDonald's is a global quick-service restaurant franchisor and real-estate platform whose approximately 95% franchised restaurant base generates unusually high-margin, recurring royalty and rent income, supporting a 46.0% operating margin and 31.6% net margin. Business quality is high because its brand, global purchasing scale, nearly 29,000 drive-thrus, digital ecosystem and 210 million 90-day a…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
LLY |
MCD |
| Zone Low |
$1,164.24 |
$242.14 |
| Zone High |
$1,319.47 |
$274.42 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|