ARCO vs MCD vs PEP Stock Comparison

Arcos Dorados Holdings, Mcdonalds and Pepsico Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARCO Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc.
$7.03 -2.9% 1M -2.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.47B
P/E
6.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.98B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
7 wins
MCD Mcdonalds Corp
$250.84 +6.1% 1M -18.0% 1Y
Market cap
$176.83B
P/E
20.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.70B
Div. yield
0.03%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
PEP Pepsico Inc
$135.46 +5.3% 1M -10.6% 1Y
Market cap
$182.09B
P/E
16.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$98.24B
Div. yield
–
Non-Alcoholic Beverages Consumer Staples
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Arcos Dorados Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Arcos Dorados Holdings 7, Mcdonalds 3, Pepsico 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARCOMCDPEPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.47B $176.83B $182.09B PEP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.0x 20.1x 16.7x ARCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.5x 18.9x 15.8x ARCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.8% +6.3% +6.4% ARCO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.9% 31.7% 11.1% MCD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 18.1% 25.9% 16.1% MCD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.6x 2.2x ARCO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.4% -18.0% -10.6% ARCO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.1%/yr +0.7%/yr -3.4%/yr ARCO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.8% 19.9% 21.4% MCD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 72/100 50/100 64/100 ARCO

Percentile Scorecard

ARCOMCDPEP

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisARCOMCDPEP
Valuation 94 #4 of 50 18 #41 of 50 62 #15 of 38
Growth 85 #8 of 47 39 #29 of 47 59 #14 of 33
Profitability 62 #18 of 46 100 #1 of 46 87 #5 of 31
Financial Health 48 #27 of 51 44 #29 of 51 35 #25 of 38
Shareholder Returns 72 #10 of 33 47 #18 of 33 77 #6 of 23
Overall 72 50 64
  • ARCO ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • MCD ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • PEP ranked among 41 companies in Beverages

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodARCOMCDPEPSPY
1 month -2.9%+6.1%+5.3% -0.8%
3 months -15.4%-7.3%-3.1% +3.5%
6 months -21.4%-13.6%-12.1% +7.0%
Year to date -4.2%-17.9%-5.6% +12.2%
1 year -2.4%-18.0%-10.6% +13.0%
3 years -22.9%-1.9%-15.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year -8.3%-0.6%-5.3% +23.1%
5 years +47.4%+3.3%-15.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +8.1%+0.7%-3.4% +11.0%
10 years +15.6%+123.7%+26.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +1.5%+8.4%+2.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureARCOMCDPEPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.8%19.9%21.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.4%20.5%20.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.92-0.01-0.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.06-0.90-0.50 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.0%-32.3%-36.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.0%-26.5%-20.5% -1.8%
52-week high $9.50$341.06$170.49 $779.14
52-week low $6.91$230.86$123.73 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleARCOMCDPEP
P/E now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 20.5x 20.2xmedian 20.5x 17.0xmedian 26.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.1x 6.4xmedian 1.1x 1.9xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 13.3x 14.4xmedian 13.3x 12.0xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 17.5x 24.0xmedian 17.5x 17.6xmedian 18.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 3.1x -173.5xmedian 3.1x 8.2xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.44median 1.07 4.71median 1.07 1.70median 2.09

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsARCOMCDPEP
Revenue $4.98B $27.70B $98.24B
Gross profit $4.89B $24.86B $53.22B
Operating income $327.73M $12.80B $15.05B
Net income $256.75M $8.79B $10.97B
Free cash flow $62.51M $7.39B $10.47B
EPS (diluted) $1.17 $12.36 $7.97
Cash & equivalents $259.99M $822.00M $10.68B
Total debt $4.13B $162.65B $208.67B
Shares (diluted) 210.66M 711.10M 1.37B
Enterprise value $259.48M $171.65B $139.86B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricARCOMCDPEP
P/E 6.0x 20.2x 17.0x
P/FCF 23.7x 24.0x 17.6x
P/Operating cash flow 4.1x 15.6x 12.7x
P/S 0.3x 6.4x 1.9x
P/B 1.8x -173.5x 8.2x
P/Tangible book 1.8x -173.5x 21.7x
EV/EBITDA 4.1x 14.4x 12.0x
EV/EBIT 6.7x 16.9x 15.0x
EV/Revenue 0.4x 7.8x 2.3x
EV/FCF 35.2x 29.3x 21.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.1x 19.1x 15.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.44 4.71 1.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARCOMCDPEP
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.8% 6.3% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 4.6% 2.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.7% 5.3% 6.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 4.8% 2.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.9% 7.3% 47.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 5.2% 10.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 97.3% 4.7% 50.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 3.2% 9.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 88.7% 5.7% 51.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 4.3% 10.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 38.8% 15.8% 23.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 9.1% 6.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 156.0% 18.0% 54.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -24.4% 8.3% 14.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARCOMCDPEP
Gross margin 98.1% 89.7% 54.2%
EBITDA margin 10.8% 54.4% 19.1%
Operating margin 6.6% 46.2% 15.3%
Pretax margin 6.7% 40.4% 14.0%
Net margin 4.9% 31.7% 11.1%
FCF margin 1.3% 26.7% 10.7%
Operating cash flow margin 7.3% 40.9% 14.8%
Return on equity 30.6% – 49.0%
Return on assets 6.4% 14.6% 9.8%
Return on invested capital 18.1% 25.9% 16.1%
Return on capital employed 10.9% 22.9% 19.4%
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.5x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.6% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARCOMCDPEP
Debt / assets 25.5% 66.5% 46.3%
Debt / equity 1.2x -39.0x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.6x 2.2x
Debt / FCF 15.9x 5.4x 5.0x
Liabilities / assets 78.6% 101.7% 79.9%
Equity / assets 21.4% -1.7% 20.1%
Interest coverage 24.5x 7.9x 13.6x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.1x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.12 4.60 3.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARCOMCDPEP
Dividend yield 3.8% 3.0% 4.3%
Net buyback yield – 1.2% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 3.8% 4.1% 4.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 59.5% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 70.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 4.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.3% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusARCOMCDPEP
Forward P/E 8.5xFY2026 18.9xFY2026 15.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.83FY2026 $13.24FY2026 $8.59FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -17.8%FY2026 +8.5%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -4.8% +6.8% +3.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.13BFY2026 $29.23BFY2026 $96.43BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.6%FY2026 +8.7%FY2026 +2.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.4% -4.0% +11.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARCOMCDPEP
Held by institutions 45.3% 74.2% 79.1%
Institutions holding 174 3,473 3,414
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +0.4% +5.8%
Institutions buying 93 1,534 1,500
Institutions selling 45 1,485 1,515
Buyers to sellers 2.07 1.03 0.99

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ARCOMCDPEP
ARCO 1.00 0.20 0.16
MCD 0.20 1.00 0.47
PEP 0.16 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARCO, MCD and PEP?

Pepsico (PEP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) $1.47B, Mcdonalds (MCD) $176.83B, Pepsico (PEP) $182.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARCO, MCD and PEP?

Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) 6.0x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 20.1x, Pepsico (PEP) 16.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) is cheapest (Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) 8.5x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 18.9x, Pepsico (PEP) 15.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) +10.8%, Mcdonalds (MCD) +6.3%, Pepsico (PEP) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest net margin (Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) 4.9%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 31.7%, Pepsico (PEP) 11.1%). On return on invested capital, Mcdonalds (MCD) leads (Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) 18.1%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 25.9%, Pepsico (PEP) 16.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) returned the most: Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) -2.4%, Mcdonalds (MCD) -18.0%, Pepsico (PEP) -10.6%. Over five years, Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) compounded fastest (Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) +8.1%/yr, Mcdonalds (MCD) +0.7%/yr, Pepsico (PEP) -3.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) 0.00%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 0.03%, Pepsico (PEP) 0.00%. Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) and Pepsico (PEP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mcdonalds (MCD) has been the steadiest (Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) 38.8%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 19.9%, Pepsico (PEP) 21.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARCO, MCD and PEP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.