MCD vs VST: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of McDonald's Corporation and Vistra Corp. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-19.
McDonald's Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$252.78
+40.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade A
High Quality
VS
Vistra Corp. · Utilities
$140.67
-23.0% 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.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MCD |
VST |
| Current Price |
$252.78 |
$140.67 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$355.71 |
$108.27 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+40.7%
|
-23.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$179.6B |
$47.4B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
15.5x
|
10.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
6.5x
|
3.0x
|
| Price / FCF |
23.1x
|
34.7x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.8%
|
-5.5%
|
| Gross Margin |
57.4%
|
13.0%
|
| Operating Margin |
45.8%
|
2.3%
|
| Return on Equity |
-561.2%
|
41.5%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.94% |
0.65% |
| FCF Yield |
4.32%
|
2.88%
|
| 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…
Vistra Corp. is a vertically integrated independent power producer and retail electricity supplier operating roughly 38,700 megawatts of generation across natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery storage, serving about 4.3 million retail customers in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The business quality is mixed: the diversified PJM and ERCOT fleet plus retail load is a genuine struc…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MCD |
VST |
| Zone Low |
$266.78 |
$81.20 |
| Zone High |
$302.35 |
$92.03 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
No
|