MCD vs MS: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of McDonald's Corporation and Morgan Stanley — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-22.
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$305.68
+4.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
VS
Morgan Stanley · Financial Services
$189.30
-30.5% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MCD has more upside to fair value
(+4.7%).
MS trades at a lower forward P/E
(16.4x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MCD |
MS |
| Current Price |
$305.68 |
$189.30 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$320.00 |
$131.49 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+4.7%
|
-30.5%
|
| Market Cap |
$218.1B |
$300.6B |
| Forward P/E |
24.5x
|
16.4x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
18.6x
|
24.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
8.1x
|
2.5x
|
| Price / FCF |
30.3x
|
-16.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.7%
|
+18.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
57.4%
|
58.0%
|
| Operating Margin |
46.1%
|
19.5%
|
| Return on Equity |
—
|
16.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.4% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
3.3%
|
—
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Hold
|
Investment Thesis
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…
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm operating in Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat supported by its systemically important status, diversified revenue streams, and strong management with a 36-year veteran CEO. Despite solid fundamentals including 14.2% revenue growth in 2025 and 16.7%…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MCD |
MS |
| Zone Low |
$240.00 |
$98.62 |
| Zone High |
$272.00 |
$111.77 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|