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 2026-09-18.
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$252.78
+40.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade A
High Quality
VS
Starbucks Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$96.67
+12.3% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
MCD has more upside to fair value
(+40.7%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MCD |
SBUX |
| Current Price |
$252.78 |
$96.67 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$355.71 |
$108.52 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+40.7%
|
+12.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$179.6B |
$110.2B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
15.5x
|
22.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
6.5x
|
2.9x
|
| Price / FCF |
23.1x
|
30.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.8%
|
-1.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
57.4%
|
31.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
45.8%
|
9.4%
|
| Return on Equity |
-561.2%
|
-24.3%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.94% |
2.57% |
| FCF Yield |
4.32%
|
3.29%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
McDonald's operates a globally scaled, approximately 95% franchised restaurant system with 46,028 restaurants in more than 100 countries, combining a powerful consumer brand, real-estate-backed franchise economics, supplier scale and digital loyalty reach. Business quality is high despite meaningful leverage: TTM gross, operating and net margins are 57.4%, 45.8% and 31.7%, respectively, while loy…
Starbucks is the world's largest specialty coffee retailer, operating company-owned and licensed coffeehouses across North America, International, and Channel Development segments, with a brand that has historically supported premium pricing and global scale. The business quality is currently strained: revenue declined 1.4% year over year in the most recent quarter, TTM operating margin is 9.4%, …
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MCD |
SBUX |
| Zone Low |
$266.78 |
$81.39 |
| Zone High |
$302.35 |
$92.24 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
No
|