MA vs MCD: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Mastercard Incorporated and McDonald's Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$498.66
+22.3% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A-
VS
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$305.68
+4.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
MA has more upside to fair value
(+22.3%).
MCD trades at a lower forward P/E
(24.5x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MA |
MCD |
| Current Price |
$498.66 |
$305.68 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$610.00 |
$320.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+22.3%
|
+4.7%
|
| Market Cap |
$445.0B |
$218.1B |
| Forward P/E |
25.5x
|
24.5x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
22.4x
|
18.6x
|
| Price / Sales |
13.6x
|
8.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
26.0x
|
30.3x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+16.4%
|
+3.7%
|
| Gross Margin |
83.4%
|
57.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
59.2%
|
46.1%
|
| Return on Equity |
198.4%
|
—
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.65% |
2.4% |
| FCF Yield |
3.84%
|
3.3%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Mastercard operates one of the world's two dominant payment networks, processing over $9 trillion in gross dollar volume annually across 220+ countries. The business generates 83% gross margins and 46% net margins with zero credit risk because Mastercard never lends money, only collecting tolls on every transaction. Value-Added Services (analytics, fraud prevention, cybersecurity) now comprise 41…
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 |
MA |
MCD |
| Zone Low |
$460.00 |
$240.00 |
| Zone High |
$515.00 |
$272.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
No
|