LULU vs MCD: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Lululemon Athletica Inc. and McDonald's Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-04.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$128.98
+307.7% upside to fair value
Grade C
VS
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$305.68
+4.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
LULU has more upside to fair value
(+307.7%).
LULU trades at a lower forward P/E
(9.7x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
LULU |
MCD |
| Current Price |
$128.98 |
$305.68 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$525.85 |
$320.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+307.7%
|
+4.7%
|
| Market Cap |
$15.1B |
$218.1B |
| Forward P/E |
9.7x
|
24.5x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
5.6x
|
18.6x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.4x
|
8.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
16.4x
|
30.3x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+0.8%
|
+3.7%
|
| Gross Margin |
56.6%
|
57.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
19.8%
|
46.1%
|
| Return on Equity |
34.8%
|
—
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
2.4% |
| FCF Yield |
6.09%
|
3.3%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Hold
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Lululemon Athletica Inc. is a premium athletic apparel retailer operating primarily in the consumer cyclical sector with a focus on apparel retail. The company has a strong brand and historically high profitability with a gross margin of 56.6% and ROE of 34.8%, but it faces significant near-term challenges including earnings pressure with a 21.6% decline in earnings in the most recent quarter and…
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 |
LULU |
MCD |
| Zone Low |
$394.39 |
$240.00 |
| Zone High |
$446.97 |
$272.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
No
|