MCD vs PLTR: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of McDonald's Corporation and Palantir Technologies Inc. β€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-05-09.
McDonald's Corporation Β· Consumer Cyclical
$275.75
+18.8% upside to fair value
Grade C High Quality
VS
Palantir Technologies Inc. Β· Technology
$133.79
-41.7% upside to fair value
Grade C High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MCD has more upside to fair value (+18.8%). MCD trades at a lower forward P/E (22.6x). These are model outputs β€” not personalized investment advice. See all research β†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric MCD PLTR
Current Price $275.75 $133.79
Fair Value Estimate $327.62 $78.04
Upside to Fair Value +18.8% -41.7%
Market Cap $196.0B $306.6B
Forward P/E 22.6x 140.4x
EV / EBITDA 16.7x 151.4x
Price / Sales 7.1x 58.7x
Price / FCF 27.9x 114.0x
Revenue Growth YoY +9.4% +84.7%
Gross Margin 57.4% 84.1%
Operating Margin 46.0% 38.1%
Return on Equity -434.0% 32.2%
Dividend Yield 0% 0%
FCF Yield 3.59% 0.88%
Analyst Consensus Buy Buy
Investment Thesis
MCD β€” McDonald's Corporation
McDonald's Corporation operates a global quick-service restaurant business with a strong competitive moat driven by brand recognition, extensive franchising, and digital innovation. The company reported $26.9 billion in revenue for fiscal 2025, growing 4% year-over-year, with significant contributions from its International Operated Markets segment growing nearly 8%. Despite a high valuation regi…
PLTR β€” Palantir Technologies Inc.
Palantir Technologies Inc. is a high-growth enterprise software company specializing in data analytics and intelligence platforms for government and commercial clients. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat through its established government contracts, proprietary platforms Gotham and Foundry, and expanding commercial footprint. Palantir's revenue grew 84.7% year-over-year in the m…
Accumulation Zones
Metric MCD PLTR
Zone Low $245.72 $58.53
Zone High $278.48 $66.33
In Buy Zone? Yes No
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