MCD vs MSFT: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of McDonald's Corporation and Microsoft Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$305.68
+4.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
VS
Microsoft Corporation · Technology
$372.20
+32.4% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A
QuantHub Verdict
MSFT has more upside to fair value
(+32.4%).
MSFT trades at a lower forward P/E
(22.0x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MCD |
MSFT |
| Current Price |
$305.68 |
$372.20 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$320.00 |
$493.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+4.7%
|
+32.4%
|
| Market Cap |
$218.1B |
$2,763.6B |
| Forward P/E |
24.5x
|
22.0x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
18.6x
|
17.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
8.1x
|
9.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
30.3x
|
35.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.7%
|
+14.9%
|
| Gross Margin |
57.4%
|
68.8%
|
| Operating Margin |
46.1%
|
45.6%
|
| Return on Equity |
—
|
29.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.4% |
0.94% |
| FCF Yield |
3.3%
|
2.8%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
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…
Microsoft is the world's largest software company, operating a three-pillar empire across cloud (Azure), productivity (Office 365/Teams), and personal computing (Windows/Xbox). Azure is the second-largest cloud platform globally with 24% market share and growing at 38-39% in constant currency, while Microsoft Cloud revenue crossed $168.9B in FY2025. The stock has dropped 33% from its highs to $37…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MCD |
MSFT |
| Zone Low |
$240.00 |
$370.00 |
| Zone High |
$272.00 |
$419.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|