MCD vs TTD: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of McDonald's Corporation and The Trade Desk, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-16.
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$305.68
+4.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
VS
The Trade Desk, Inc. · Technology
$22.76
+488.8% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A-
QuantHub Verdict
TTD has more upside to fair value
(+488.8%).
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 |
TTD |
| Current Price |
$305.68 |
$22.76 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$320.00 |
$134.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+4.7%
|
+488.8%
|
| Market Cap |
$218.1B |
$10.8B |
| Forward P/E |
24.5x
|
24.6x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
18.6x
|
—
|
| Price / Sales |
8.1x
|
3.7x
|
| Price / FCF |
30.3x
|
13.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.7%
|
+14.5%
|
| Gross Margin |
57.4%
|
78.6%
|
| Operating Margin |
46.1%
|
20.3%
|
| Return on Equity |
—
|
16.9%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.4% |
— |
| FCF Yield |
3.3%
|
7.3%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
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…
The Trade Desk is the largest independent demand-side platform for programmatic advertising with 78.6% gross margins. After recent sell-off, stock trades at 3.2x forward P/S vs historical higher multiples, offering upside if growth stabilizes at 15%+. A-tier business at cheap valuation.[1]
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MCD |
TTD |
| Zone Low |
$240.00 |
$100.00 |
| Zone High |
$272.00 |
$114.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|