What is Wedbush’s Estimate for McDonald’s FY2024 Earnings?

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Equities researchers at Wedbush raised their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for McDonald’s in a report issued on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the fast-food giant will post earnings of $11.83 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $11.75. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.78 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q2 2025 earnings at $3.15 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.41 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $12.53 EPS.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.99% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $295.24 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $298.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.78. McDonald’s has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,153 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,281 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $7,268,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 47,381 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,428,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.