MCD vs PEP Stock Comparison

Mcdonalds and Pepsico Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MCD Mcdonalds Corp
$250.84 +6.1% 1M -18.0% 1Y
Market cap
$177.50B
P/E
20.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.70B
Div. yield
2.97%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
4 wins
PEP Pepsico Inc
$135.46 +5.3% 1M -10.6% 1Y
Market cap
$184.60B
P/E
17.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$98.24B
Div. yield
4.28%
Non-Alcoholic Beverages Consumer Staples
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Pepsico leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Pepsico 8, Mcdonalds 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMCDPEPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $177.50B $184.60B PEP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.2x 17.0x PEP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.9x 15.8x PEP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.3% +6.4% PEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 31.7% 11.1% MCD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 25.9% 16.1% MCD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 2.2x PEP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.97% 4.28% PEP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.0% -10.6% PEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.7%/yr -3.4%/yr MCD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.9% 21.4% MCD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 40/100 61/100 PEP

Percentile Scorecard

MCDPEP

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

AxisMCDPEP
Valuation 17 #16 of 19 67 #6 of 16
Growth 38 #11 of 17 73 #4 of 12
Profitability 93 #2 of 16 80 #3 of 11
Financial Health 26 #15 of 20 25 #13 of 17
Shareholder Returns 25 #7 of 9 –
Overall 40 61
  • MCD ranked among 22 companies in Restaurants
  • PEP ranked among 19 companies in Beverages

Price Performance

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

Returns

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

Risk

MeasureMCDPEPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.9%21.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.5%20.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.01-0.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.90-0.50 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.3%-36.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.5%-20.5% -1.8%
52-week high $341.06$170.49 $779.14
52-week low $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.

MultipleMCDPEP
P/E now vs peer median 20.2xmedian 16.8x 17.0xmedian 30.2x
P/S now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 1.0x 1.9xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.4xmedian 9.9x 12.0xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.0xmedian 17.5x 17.6xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median -173.5xmedian 3.9x 8.2xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 4.71median 0.52 1.70median 1.70

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 monthsMCDPEP
Revenue $27.70B $98.24B
Gross profit $24.86B $53.22B
Operating income $12.80B $15.05B
Net income $8.79B $10.97B
Free cash flow $7.39B $10.47B
EPS (diluted) $12.36 $7.97
Cash & equivalents $822.00M $10.68B
Total debt $162.65B $208.67B
Shares (diluted) 711.10M 1.37B
Enterprise value $172.33B $142.55B

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
MetricMCDPEP
P/E 20.2x 17.0x
P/FCF 24.0x 17.6x
P/Operating cash flow 15.6x 12.7x
P/S 6.4x 1.9x
P/B -173.5x 8.2x
P/Tangible book -173.5x 21.7x
EV/EBITDA 14.4x 12.0x
EV/EBIT 16.9x 15.0x
EV/Revenue 7.8x 2.3x
EV/FCF 29.3x 21.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.1x 15.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.71 1.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMCDPEP
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.3% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 2.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.3% 6.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 2.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 7.3% 47.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 10.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.7% 50.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.2% 9.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 5.7% 51.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 10.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.8% 23.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 6.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 18.0% 54.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 14.7%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMCDPEP
Dividend yield 3.0% 4.3%
Net buyback yield 1.2% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 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.

ConsensusMCDPEP
Forward P/E 18.9xFY2026 15.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $13.26FY2026 $8.59FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.7%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.9% +3.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $29.26BFY2026 $96.43BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.8%FY2026 +2.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.7% +11.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMCDPEP
Held by institutions 74.2% 79.1%
Institutions holding 3,473 3,414
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +5.8%
Institutions buying 1,534 1,500
Institutions selling 1,485 1,515
Buyers to sellers 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.

MCDPEP
MCD 1.00 0.47
PEP 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MCD and PEP?

Pepsico (PEP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mcdonalds (MCD) $177.50B, Pepsico (PEP) $184.60B.

Which stock is cheaper, MCD and PEP?

Pepsico (PEP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mcdonalds (MCD) 20.2x, Pepsico (PEP) 17.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pepsico (PEP) is cheapest (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?

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

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

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

Which pays a higher dividend?

Pepsico (PEP) has the highest dividend yield: Mcdonalds (MCD) 2.97%, Pepsico (PEP) 4.28%.

Which stock is riskier?

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

Do MCD and PEP move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.47, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, 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, Pepsico (PEP) leads on 8. 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.