MCD vs TMO: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of McDonald's Corporation and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-04.
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$305.68
+4.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
VS
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. · Healthcare
$462.60
+10.1% upside to fair value
Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
TMO has more upside to fair value
(+10.1%).
MCD trades at a lower forward P/E
(24.5x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MCD |
TMO |
| Current Price |
$305.68 |
$462.60 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$320.00 |
$509.20 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+4.7%
|
+10.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$218.1B |
$171.9B |
| Forward P/E |
24.5x
|
25.1x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
18.6x
|
19.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
8.1x
|
3.8x
|
| Price / FCF |
30.3x
|
25.5x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.7%
|
+6.2%
|
| Gross Margin |
57.4%
|
39.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
46.1%
|
17.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
—
|
13.3%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.4% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
3.3%
|
3.92%
|
| 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…
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. operates in the healthcare sector, specializing in medical diagnostics and research tools across four main segments: Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services, Life Sciences Solutions, Analytical Instruments, and Specialty Diagnostics. The company demonstrates medium business quality with steady revenue growth of 6.2% and earnings growth of 9.6% in the most recent q…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MCD |
TMO |
| Zone Low |
$240.00 |
$381.90 |
| Zone High |
$272.00 |
$432.82 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|