MCD vs SBUX: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of McDonald's Corporation and Starbucks 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
Starbucks Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$96.60
+19.0% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B+
QuantHub Verdict
SBUX has more upside to fair value
(+19.0%).
MCD trades at a lower forward P/E
(24.5x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MCD |
SBUX |
| Current Price |
$305.68 |
$96.60 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$320.00 |
$115.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+4.7%
|
+19.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$218.1B |
$110.1B |
| Forward P/E |
24.5x
|
42.2x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
18.6x
|
22.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
8.1x
|
3.0x
|
| Price / FCF |
30.3x
|
45.1x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.7%
|
+2.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
57.4%
|
24.2%
|
| Operating Margin |
46.1%
|
9.6%
|
| Return on Equity |
—
|
-22.9%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.4% |
2.55% |
| FCF Yield |
3.3%
|
2.2%
|
| 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…
Starbucks is the world's largest specialty coffee retailer with over 39,000 stores across 86 markets, generating $37.2B in annual revenue. Under CEO Brian Niccol, now 19 months into his tenure after joining from Chipotle in September 2024, the company is executing the Back to Starbucks operational turnaround focused on service speed, menu simplification, and store experience reinvention. At P/S 2…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MCD |
SBUX |
| Zone Low |
$240.00 |
$88.00 |
| Zone High |
$272.00 |
$98.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|