MCD US S&P 500DJIARussell 1000 Earnings call · transcribed from the recording
McDonald's (MCD) · Q3 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $274.80 · 2026-11-11
McDonald's is an American multinational fast food restaurant chain. It operates a system of restaurants in more than 100 countries. Source: Wikipedia
Results Q3 2026 vs Q2 2026 · previous quarter · published 4 Nov 2026 and 4 Aug 2026
Net income up 5.2% on the previous quarter. Management sounded about as positive as a typical company call, in its script and in answers to analysts.
Only a basic analysis is available for this company at the moment.
1 · Numbers
+5.2%
Net income vs Q2 2026
Outlook given
Net income 2.49B vs 2.36B
Revenue +0.8%
2 · How management spoke
Typical
More upbeat than 56% of company calls
Answers to analysts: restrained, in line with the script.
Similar to last call.
3 · What stood out
Figure
McDonald's continued to see checks that included a specialty beverage up about 50% compared to the full-day average check.
Valuation
Is McDonald's undervalued?
Reverse DCF. Free cash flow from the last full fiscal year (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At 5.1% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $46.00 a share — the stock trades 497% above it. Today's price assumes 24.7% growth a year.
Current price
$274.80
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+24.7% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$46.00
Buy below
$34.50
Price vs fair value
Overvalued >200%
Price vs buy-below price
Overvalued >200%
Read between the lines
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Key theme
Incremental guest counts and sales
Source quote
“The initial responses to the mass digital offers exceeded expectations for both incremental guest counts and sales, and helped to reverse the decline... Examples of these offers included a $2 breakfast sandwich and free fries with a $1 minimum purchase. The second step was reallocating marketing support toward rest-of-day entry-level meal deals and extra-value meals, proven and compelling components of our value offerings.”
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Guidance
As McDonald's discussed at Investor Day, it expects the investments it has made in global systems, shared capabilities, and high-quality enterprise data will begin contributing to improved efficiency on SG &A...
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Guidance
McDonald's now expects 2026 capital expenditures of about 3.7 billion dollars, which is at the low end of its previously guided range of 3.7 to 3.9 billion, reflecting opening...
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Fading
There has been a lot of work done since then to get McDonald's' base menu pricing back in line.
Source quote
“There has been a lot of work done since then to get our base menu pricing back in line. Our base menu pricing in many places has gotten ahead of competition. And the good news I can say in the U.S.”
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q3 2026. Ring: Q2 2026.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“While we continue to face short-term disruptions to our business in France due to the recent protests, we're now better positioned to drive growth behind stronger marketing support and the...”
“And Australia's successful quarter pound innovation has confirmed the opportunity that we believe exists with this equity across other markets, which will be a focus area in 2027.”
“As we discussed at Investor Day, we expect the investments we've made in global systems, shared capabilities, and high-quality enterprise data will begin contributing to improved efficiency on SG &A...”
Full figures
USD · SEC EDGAR XBRL (10-Q, period end 2026-09-30)
| Metric | Q3 2026period end 2026-09-30 | Q2 2026period end 2026-06-30 | Change | Q3 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 7.16B | 7.10B | +0.8% | 7.08B | +1.1% |
| Gross profit | 6.47B | 6.42B | +0.8% | 6.41B | +0.9% |
| Operating income | 3.60B | 3.34B | +7.7% | 3.36B | +7.1% |
| Net income | 2.49B | 2.36B | +5.2% | 2.28B | +9.1% |
| EPS | 3.51 | 3.32 | +5.7% | 3.18 | +10.4% |
| P/E today 21.9 | 18.3 | 22.0 | −3.7 | 25.9 | −7.6 |
Topics
Most discussed now
- In the third quarter, global comparable sales grew 1.5% in a soft consumer environment, particularly in Europe.
- McDonald's' focus now is to build on that improvement and accelerate baseline performance.
- In the third quarter, McDonald's delivered global comparable sales of 1.5% and system sales growth of 4% in constant currency,...
- McDonald's' international markets delivered another quarter of solid results, supported by the continued strong execution across value…
- Since relaunching EVMs more than a year ago, unit sales from McDonald's' top EVMs are up about 7% versus the...
Faded since Q2 2026
- Dropped There's a bunch of work that needs to happen to get ready to launch KPop Demon Hunters.
- Dropped As McDonald's is doing that normal remodel cycle, it is also thinking about are there things that it can do on top...
- Fading McDonald's will also be reallocating marketing dollars throughout the second half of the year to increase support behind its proven value...
- Fading McDonald's committed to its iconic core menu by focusing on its $17 billion brands with a particular focus on its...
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first. Summaries are generated from each filing and its attachment; every figure is checked against the source.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
McDonald's announced the NEXT strategy aiming for 1.5 percentage points of market share gains in chicken and beverage categories by 2030 and an operating margin in the low-to-mid 50% range.
- Director or officer change; Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
Effective August 4, 2026, Skye Anderson was appointed Executive Vice President and President of McDonald’s USA, succeeding Joseph M. Erlinger who transitioned to an advisory role.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
- Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K · routine
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
McDonald's reported consolidated revenues of $6.517 billion, up 9% from $5.956 billion in the first quarter of 2025, while diluted earnings per share rose to $2.78 from $2.60.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
McDonald's reported full-year 2025 systemwide sales of over $139 billion, an increase of 7% compared to the previous year.
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
McDonald's Corporation increased its Board size to 12 members and elected James D. Farley, Jr. as an independent Director on February 4, 2026.