# McDonald's Corporation (MCD) — Stock CV

McDonald's Corporation is a $167B consumer company. Revenue grew 6.3% over the last year, it keeps 32¢ of every dollar of sales as profit, and its net debt equals ~5.1 years of free cash flow. It trades at 18.9× earnings — near the lowest of its own history.

> McDonald's is the world's largest restaurant brand, with nearly $139 billion in systemwide sales across more than 45,000 restaurants and over 100 markets.

## Identity

- **Ticker**: MCD
- **Sector**: Consumer Cyclical
- **Industry**: Retail-Eating Places
- **Headquarters**: CHICAGO, IL
- **Employees**: 150 000
- **Website**: https://www.mcdonalds.com
- **Market cap**: $167B
- **Last price**: $235.89
- **Financial profile**: Strained

## Vitals (TTM)

- **Revenue**: $27.7B
- **Net income**: $8.79B
- **Free cash flow**: $7.76B
- **Net debt**: $39.2B
- **P/E**: 18.9
- **Revenue growth (YoY)**: 6.3%

## Skills (profile scores, 0–100)

| Pillar | Score |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 61 |
| Growth | 37 |
| Profitability | 100 |
| Health | 30 |
| Quality | 87 |
| Moat | 95 |

## Qualifications (beginner checklist) — 9 of 11 passed

- [x] Revenue growing — +6.3% YoY
- [x] Profitable — $8.79B TTM
- [x] Profit growing — +12.8% YoY
- [x] Generates cash — $7.76B TTM
- [ ] Debt under control — ~5.1y of cash flow to repay
- [x] Established company — $167B market cap
- [x] Not printing shares — -4.5% shares over ~5y
- [x] Proven track record — 10/10 profitable years
- [ ] Financially stable — health score 30/100
- [x] Pays a dividend — yield 3.14%
- [x] Valuation not extreme — P/E 18.9

## Experience (career milestones)

- **FY2025** — Best year on record: $8.56B net income
- **Sep 4, 2024** — In partnership with the Central Food Technological Research Institute in India, McDonald's has introduced…
- **2021** — McDonald's established its first UK net zero carbon restaurant in Market Drayton in Shropshire in December 2021
- **2020** — McDonald's sold meat pies after local affiliate McDonald's New Zealand (known locally as…
- **FY2016** — Profitable every year on record: 10 consecutive profitable years in our data
- **FY2016** — Revenue already above $10B: $24.6B in first reported year
- **FY2016** — Positive free cash flow every year since: 10-year streak
- **1979** — Happy Meal: kids + toys — marketing genius in a box
- **1967** — Big Mac: a franchisee's invention that became the icon
- **Apr 21, 1965** — IPO: went public at $22.50 per share
- **1963** — Clown mascot Ronald McDonald was introduced in 1963 to market the chain to children
- **1961** — He purchased the brothers' ownership stake in the company in 1961 and oversaw its domestic and international expansion
- **Apr 15, 1955** — Ray Kroc's first franchise: Des Plaines, Illinois — the corporation is born
- **1953** — The Golden Arches design was introduced in 1953
- **1948** — The McDonald brothers introduced the "Speedee Service System" in 1948, putting into expanded use the principles of…
- **May 15, 1940** — McDonald brothers' barbecue stand: San Bernardino drive-in with the "Speedee" system
- **May 15, 1940** — Siblings Richard and Maurice McDonald, with the goal of making $1 million before they turned 50, opened the first…

## Strengths

- High gross margin (57.4%)
- Strongly profitable — 31.7% net margin
- Strong cash conversion — FCF is 28.0% of revenue
- Interest covered 9.1× by operating earnings
- High returns on invested capital (ROIC 26.2%)

## Watch-outs

- Net debt equals ~5.1 years of free cash flow

## Track record

| Year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $23.2B | $7.55B | $7.10B |
| FY2022 | $23.2B | $6.18B | $5.49B |
| FY2023 | $25.5B | $8.47B | $7.25B |
| FY2024 | $25.9B | $8.22B | $6.67B |
| FY2025 | $26.9B | $8.56B | $7.19B |

---

Source: https://stockcv.com/MCD — derived from company filings; may be delayed or incomplete. Information, not investment advice.