Zacks Research Brokers Cut Earnings Estimates for McDonald’s

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for McDonald’s in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, February 5th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now anticipates that the fast-food giant will post earnings of $3.35 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $3.37. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.73 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q2 2026 earnings at $3.44 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.13.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $308.22 on Monday. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $290.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $2,471,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.