MCD vs UNH: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of McDonald's Corporation and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated — 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
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated · Healthcare
$375.21
+28.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
High Quality
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 |
UNH |
| Current Price |
$252.78 |
$375.21 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$355.71 |
$481.06 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+40.7%
|
+28.2%
|
| Market Cap |
$179.6B |
$340.7B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
15.5x
|
15.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
6.5x
|
0.8x
|
| Price / FCF |
23.1x
|
14.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.8%
|
+0.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
57.4%
|
22.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
45.8%
|
4.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
-561.2%
|
14.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.94% |
2.41% |
| FCF Yield |
4.32%
|
6.95%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong 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…
UnitedHealth Group is the largest diversified healthcare enterprise in the United States, operating UnitedHealthcare insurance plans alongside Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx, with 390,000 employees and a market capitalization of $340.74 billion. The business quality is high: a 14.6% return on equity, $26.07 in free cash flow per share, and a P/FCF of 14.39 demonstrate strong cash gener…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MCD |
UNH |
| Zone Low |
$266.78 |
$360.80 |
| Zone High |
$302.35 |
$408.90 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|