CAVA vs YUM vs MCD Stock Comparison

Cava, Yum Brands and Mcdonalds Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAVA Cava Group, Inc.
$51.50 -0.2% 1M -19.0% 1Y
Market cap
$6.05B
P/E
99.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
YUM Yum Brands Inc
$149.39 +7.8% 1M +4.2% 1Y
Market cap
$41.09B
P/E
18.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.72B
Div. yield
0.02%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
4 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
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mcdonalds leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Mcdonalds 6, Yum Brands 4, Cava 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAVAYUMMCDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.05B $41.09B $176.83B MCD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 99.1x 18.5x 20.1x YUM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 101.0x 23.8x 18.9x MCD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.2% +10.3% +6.3% CAVA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.0% 25.4% 31.7% MCD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 54.9% 25.9% YUM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.9x 2.6x MCD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.03% MCD
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -19.0% +4.2% -18.0% YUM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +3.5%/yr +0.7%/yr YUM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.5% 25.5% 19.9% MCD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 52/100 50/100 CAVA

Percentile Scorecard

CAVAYUMMCD

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

AxisCAVAYUMMCD
Valuation 2 #49 of 50 20 #40 of 50 18 #41 of 50
Growth 91 #5 of 47 65 #17 of 47 39 #29 of 47
Profitability 42 #27 of 46 98 #2 of 46 100 #1 of 46
Financial Health 96 #3 of 51 16 #43 of 51 44 #29 of 51
Shareholder Returns – 63 #13 of 33 47 #18 of 33
Overall 58 52 50
  • CAVA ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • YUM ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • MCD ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCAVAYUMMCDSPY
1 month -0.2%+7.8%+6.1% -0.8%
3 months -20.2%+1.1%-7.3% +3.5%
6 months -45.3%-3.7%-13.6% +7.0%
Year to date -12.3%-1.2%-17.9% +12.2%
1 year -19.0%+4.2%-18.0% +13.0%
3 years +62.8%+25.1%-1.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +17.7%+7.7%-0.6% +23.1%
5 years —+18.8%+3.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year —+3.5%+0.7% +11.0%
10 years —+142.4%+123.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+9.3%+8.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCAVAYUMMCDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.5%25.5%19.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.1%25.0%20.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.300.01-0.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.320.17-0.90 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.1%-24.2%-32.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -47.1%-11.2%-26.5% -1.8%
52-week high $97.39$168.16$341.06 $779.14
52-week low $43.59$135.80$230.86 $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.

MultipleCAVAYUMMCD
P/E now vs peer median 98.4xmedian 20.5x 18.5xmedian 20.5x 20.2xmedian 20.5x
P/S now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 1.1x 4.7xmedian 1.1x 6.4xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 39.8xmedian 13.3x 17.8xmedian 13.3x 14.4xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 17.5x 24.3xmedian 17.5x 24.0xmedian 17.5x
P/B now vs peer median 7.2xmedian 3.1x -5.7xmedian 3.1x -173.5xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.61median 1.07 1.07median 1.07 4.71median 1.07

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 monthsCAVAYUMMCD
Revenue $1.22B $8.72B $27.70B
Gross profit $301.99M $5.94B $24.86B
Operating income $66.42M $2.70B $12.80B
Net income $61.05M $2.22B $8.79B
Free cash flow – $1.68B $7.39B
EPS (diluted) $0.52 $8.00 $12.36
Cash & equivalents $322.76M $674.00M $822.00M
Total debt – $12.28B $162.65B
Shares (diluted) 118.38M 277.00M 711.10M
Enterprise value $4.45B $37.98B $171.65B

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
MetricCAVAYUMMCD
P/E 98.4x 18.5x 20.2x
P/FCF – 24.3x 24.0x
P/Operating cash flow – 19.6x 15.6x
P/S 4.9x 4.7x 6.4x
P/B 7.2x -5.7x -173.5x
P/Tangible book 7.2x -5.2x -173.5x
EV/EBITDA 39.8x 17.8x 14.4x
EV/EBIT 84.0x 19.4x 16.9x
EV/Revenue 4.6x 6.0x 7.8x
EV/FCF – 31.2x 29.3x
EV/Operating cash flow – 25.1x 19.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.61 1.07 4.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAVAYUMMCD
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.2% 10.3% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 23.5% 7.7% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.7% 6.5% 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 27.3% 4.3% 4.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 25.1% 10.5% 7.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 63.5% 6.8% 5.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -56.6% 54.8% 4.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 62.8% 16.0% 3.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -56.6% 57.1% 5.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 37.7% 17.3% 4.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 13.6% 15.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 9.6% 9.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 9.5% 18.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 9.5% 8.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAVAYUMMCD
Gross margin 24.8% 68.1% 89.7%
EBITDA margin 11.5% 33.7% 54.4%
Operating margin 5.5% 31.0% 46.2%
Pretax margin 6.7% 25.2% 40.4%
Net margin 5.0% 25.4% 31.7%
FCF margin – 19.3% 26.7%
Operating cash flow margin – 23.9% 40.9%
Return on equity 7.5% – –
Return on assets 4.3% 26.2% 14.6%
Return on invested capital – 54.9% 25.9%
Return on capital employed 5.4% 65.1% 22.9%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.9x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.8% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAVAYUMMCD
Debt / assets – 141.4% 66.5%
Debt / equity – -1.7x -39.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.9x 2.6x
Debt / FCF – 7.3x 5.4x
Liabilities / assets 43.9% 181.9% 101.7%
Equity / assets 56.1% -81.9% -1.7%
Interest coverage – – 7.9x
Current ratio 2.5x 0.6x 1.1x
Quick ratio 2.4x 0.3x 0.8x
Cash ratio 2.3x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 6.47 2.24 4.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAVAYUMMCD
Dividend yield – 2.0% 3.0%
Net buyback yield – 2.2% 1.2%
Shareholder yield – 4.2% 4.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 36.4% 59.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 48.1% 70.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 4.8% 4.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.9% 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.

ConsensusCAVAYUMMCD
Forward P/E 101.0xFY2026 23.8xFY2026 18.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.51FY2026 $6.29FY2026 $13.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -5.6%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026 +8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +49.0% +16.7% +6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.43BFY2026 $9.06BFY2026 $29.23BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.9%FY2026 +10.3%FY2026 +8.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +31.4% -4.0% -4.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAVAYUMMCD
Held by institutions 89.4% 88.7% 74.2%
Institutions holding 541 1,435 3,473
Change in shares held, QoQ -6.7% +3.6% +0.4%
Institutions buying 245 626 1,534
Institutions selling 209 488 1,485
Buyers to sellers 1.17 1.28 1.03

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.

CAVAYUMMCD
CAVA 1.00 0.24 0.19
YUM 0.24 1.00 0.58
MCD 0.19 0.58 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAVA, YUM and MCD?

Mcdonalds (MCD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cava (CAVA) $6.05B, Yum Brands (YUM) $41.09B, Mcdonalds (MCD) $176.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAVA, YUM and MCD?

Yum Brands (YUM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cava (CAVA) 99.1x, Yum Brands (YUM) 18.5x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 20.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mcdonalds (MCD) is cheapest (Cava (CAVA) 101.0x, Yum Brands (YUM) 23.8x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 18.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cava (CAVA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cava (CAVA) +12.2%, Yum Brands (YUM) +10.3%, Mcdonalds (MCD) +6.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest net margin (Cava (CAVA) 5.0%, Yum Brands (YUM) 25.4%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 31.7%). On return on invested capital, Yum Brands (YUM) leads (Yum Brands (YUM) 54.9%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 25.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Yum Brands (YUM) returned the most: Cava (CAVA) -19.0%, Yum Brands (YUM) +4.2%, Mcdonalds (MCD) -18.0%. Over five years, Yum Brands (YUM) compounded fastest (Yum Brands (YUM) +3.5%/yr, Mcdonalds (MCD) +0.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest dividend yield: Cava (CAVA) 0.00%, Yum Brands (YUM) 0.02%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 0.03%. Cava (CAVA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mcdonalds (MCD) has been the steadiest (Cava (CAVA) 59.5%, Yum Brands (YUM) 25.5%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 19.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAVA, YUM and MCD?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mcdonalds (MCD) leads on 6. 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.