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McDonald's Corporation
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice.
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3 of 5 met · composite in line with peers
Business quality, valuation against the sector, and position in the 52-week range — whether they line up or not.
Mixed signals
1 signal unavailable
Profitability
3/4
Debt & liquidity
2/3
Efficiency
0/2
Operating margin at 46.1% — nearly four times the sector median of 11.8% — marks the franchise model's structural advantage, yet the balance sheet complicates that picture. Debt/EBITDA of 3.1× runs +181% above the sector median of 1.1×, placing McDonald's Corporation firmly in the bottom quartile for financial health, and the F-Score of 5/9 reflects the same tension: efficiency sub-scores are weak even as profitability holds. The P/E of 22.0× sits -24% below the sector median of 28.9×, and FCF yield of 4.0% runs +28% above the median — so the valuation is not demanding relative to peers. On the forward axis, consensus models earnings growth that the realized three-year CAGR in SEC filings has not matched, and the beat rate over eight quarters is weak; the composite of 59/100 against the sector captures that mix of genuine margin strength and structural debt.
| Ticker | Name | F-Score | ROE | Revenue YoY | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | Amazon | 6/9 | 22% | +12% |
Quarter-by-quarter classification · a retrospective read by the current logic · not a price forecast
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice. The method did not see these quarters in real time; this is the current logic applied to past reports.
The market prices in earnings growth; analyst sentiment is steady; has mostly beaten consensus.
Price against next year's expected earnings. The forward P/E already carries analyst optimism — read it alongside the “Versus consensus” line.
A forward P/E below the current one means the market expects earnings to grow; above it, to fall. The historical growth is realized figures from SEC filings, not a forecast.
The three-month change in the share of positive analyst ratings. This is sentiment, not an earnings-estimate revision, and not a call to act.
When McDonald's reports on 2026-11-03, track operating margin against its current 3.9× sector-median premium and check whether free cash flow yield holds near 3.16%. The F-Score efficiency block scored 0/2, so watch asset turnover and revenue-per-unit figures for any sign of improvement or further slippage.
McDonald's carries a Debt/EBITDA of 1.11× — 2.8× above the sector median — while its current ratio sits 14% below the median at 1.11. In the annual report, focus on the risk factors and management's discussion sections covering long-term debt covenants, refinancing schedules, and franchise cash flow assumptions.
Using the same-sector table in section 06, pick two or three companies yourself and line up Debt/EBITDA alongside FCF yield. That pairing puts McDonald's leverage premium and its above-median 3.16% FCF yield in direct sector context without relying on a single reference point.
Steps you can check yourself, based on the figures in this brief.
Piotroski F-Score: nine binary tests of financial strength from the annual report. A ✓ marks a test passed, a dot (·) a test failed.
Over 4 years: -23%+32%-8%+8%
Over 4 years: 3.693.093.163.11
Over 4 years: -0%+10%+2%+4%
The context on the right shows how each figure compares with the sector median. The trend below tracks the change over recent fiscal years.
Beat consensus in 5 of 8 recent quarters — a mixed record.
Last quarter's EPS against consensus, plus the estimated date of the next report.
| 11% |
| BABA | Alibaba | 3/9 | 10% | +8% | 5% |
| BKNG | Booking Holdings | 6/9 | — | +13% | 33% |
| F | Ford | 3/9 | -20% | +1% | -5% |
| GM | General Motors | 5/9 | 4% | -1% | 2% |
| HD | Home Depot | 3/9 | 146% | +3% | 13% |
| LOW | Lowe's | 6/9 | — | +3% | 12% |
| MAR | Marriott | 7/9 | — | +4% | 16% |
| MCD | McDonald's Corporation | 5/9 | — | +4% | 46% |
| NKE | Nike | 4/9 | 22% | +0% | — |
| ORLY | O'Reilly Automotive | 6/9 | — | +6% | 19% |
| ROST | Ross Stores | 6/9 | 37% | +8% | 12% |
| SBUX | Starbucks | 6/9 | — | +3% | 8% |
| TJX | TJX Companies | 7/9 | 59% | +7% | — |
| TSLA | Tesla | 5/9 | 5% | -3% | 5% |
| YUM | Yum! Brands | 4/9 | — | +9% | 31% |
A sample of 16 companies in the sector including the target, alphabetical, unranked. Data from the latest SEC annual reports.
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice.
A simplified retrospective read: no analyst forecast (not available historically); the source is the annual report as of the date, so neighbouring quarters can rest on the same data. Quarters with the same classification in a row are merged into one row — each row is one change in the read, not a separate quarter. One ticker is an illustration of the classification logic, not statistics. How we calculate →
The last few quarters are recent context, not a fixed rate. Consensus for near quarters is set low, so companies clear it routinely; over long horizons the forecasts run the other way, too high.
A description of what the market and analysts expect. Not a price forecast and not investment advice. Analyst forecasts run systematically optimistic over long horizons — read them with that discount.