LKNCY vs MCD vs LOCO Stock Comparison

Luckin Coffee, Mcdonalds and El Pollo Loco Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LKNCY Luckin Coffee Inc.
$32.28 -0.8% 1M -18.9% 1Y
Market cap
$8.71B
P/E
20.1x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
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
5 wins
LOCO El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
$14.58 +3.5% 1M +54.1% 1Y
Market cap
$443.82M
P/E
12.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$500.79M
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mcdonalds leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Mcdonalds 5, El Pollo Loco Holdings 4, Luckin Coffee 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLKNCYMCDLOCOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.71B $177.50B $443.82M MCD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.1x 20.2x 12.4x LOCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.9x 18.9x 15.0x LKNCY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +6.3% +4.4% MCD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 31.7% 7.0% MCD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 25.9% 10.8% MCD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.6x 0.2x LOCO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 2.97% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.9% -18.0% +54.1% LOCO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.9%/yr +0.7%/yr +0.0%/yr LKNCY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 43.4% 19.9% 37.1% MCD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 40/100 64/100 LOCO

Percentile Scorecard

LKNCYMCDLOCO

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

AxisLKNCYMCDLOCO
Valuation 50 #10 of 19 17 #16 of 19 78 #5 of 19
Growth – 38 #11 of 17 69 #6 of 17
Profitability – 93 #2 of 16 53 #8 of 16
Financial Health 63 #8 of 20 26 #15 of 20 58 #9 of 20
Shareholder Returns – 25 #7 of 9 –
Overall – 40 64
  • LKNCY ranked among 22 companies in Restaurants
  • MCD ranked among 22 companies in Restaurants
  • LOCO ranked among 22 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLKNCYMCDLOCOSPY
1 month -0.8%+6.1%+3.5% -0.8%
3 months +0.7%-7.3%-9.9% +3.5%
6 months +4.1%-13.6%+5.7% +7.0%
Year to date -3.6%-17.9%+39.4% +12.2%
1 year -18.9%-18.0%+54.1% +13.0%
3 years -2.2%-1.9%+77.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year -0.7%-0.6%+21.1% +23.1%
5 years +118.0%+3.3%+0.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +16.9%+0.7%+0.0% +11.0%
10 years —+123.7%+23.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+8.4%+2.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLKNCYMCDLOCOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 43.4%19.9%37.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.8%20.5%32.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.41-0.010.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.44-0.901.46 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.9%-32.3%-47.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.6%-26.5%-15.2% -1.8%
52-week high $41.15$341.06$17.20 $779.14
52-week low $27.67$230.86$9.06 $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.

MultipleLKNCYMCDLOCO
P/E now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 16.8x 20.2xmedian 16.8x 12.4xmedian 16.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.0x 6.4xmedian 1.0x 0.9xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 9.9x 14.4xmedian 9.9x 6.6xmedian 9.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.6xmedian 17.5x 24.0xmedian 17.5x 10.8xmedian 17.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 3.9x -173.5xmedian 3.9x 1.4xmedian 3.9x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.52 4.71median 0.52 0.60median 0.52

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 monthsLKNCYMCDLOCO
Revenue – $27.70B $500.79M
Gross profit – $24.86B $161.41M
Operating income – $12.80B $52.67M
Net income – $8.79B $34.86M
Free cash flow – $7.39B $41.01M
EPS (diluted) – $12.36 $1.16
Cash & equivalents $327.91M $822.00M $13.30M
Total debt – $162.65B $186.00M
Shares (diluted) 321.02M 711.10M 30.09M
Enterprise value $7.79B $172.33B $409.49M

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
MetricLKNCYMCDLOCO
P/E 20.1x 20.2x 12.4x
P/FCF 17.6x 24.0x 10.8x
P/Operating cash flow – 15.6x 6.0x
P/S 1.2x 6.4x 0.9x
P/B 3.9x -173.5x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 3.9x -173.5x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA – 14.4x 6.6x
EV/EBIT – 16.9x 8.7x
EV/Revenue – 7.8x 0.9x
EV/FCF – 29.3x 11.2x
EV/Operating cash flow – 19.1x 6.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 4.71 0.60

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLKNCYMCDLOCO
Revenue growth (1Y) – 6.3% 4.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 4.6% 2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 5.3% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 4.8% 8.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 7.3% 33.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 5.2% 14.6%
Net income growth (1Y) – 4.7% 41.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 3.2% 14.0%
EPS growth (1Y) – 5.7% 37.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 4.3% 20.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 15.8% 97.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 9.1% 15.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 18.0% 98.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.3% 13.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLKNCYMCDLOCO
Gross margin – 89.7% 32.2%
EBITDA margin – 54.4% 13.9%
Operating margin – 46.2% 10.5%
Pretax margin – 40.4% 9.8%
Net margin – 31.7% 7.0%
FCF margin – 26.7% 8.2%
Operating cash flow margin – 40.9% 14.8%
Return on equity – – 11.2%
Return on assets – 14.6% 5.7%
Return on invested capital – 25.9% 10.8%
Return on capital employed – 22.9% 9.9%
Asset turnover – 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.3x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.6% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLKNCYMCDLOCO
Debt / assets – 66.5% 4.8%
Debt / equity – -39.0x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.6x 0.2x
Debt / FCF – 5.4x 0.7x
Liabilities / assets 48.4% 101.7% 48.8%
Equity / assets 51.6% -1.7% 51.2%
Interest coverage – 7.9x 14.9x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.1x 0.4x
Quick ratio 2.3x 0.8x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 4.60 2.02

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLKNCYMCDLOCO
Dividend yield – 3.0% –
Net buyback yield – 1.2% -0.7%
Shareholder yield – 4.1% -0.7%
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.

ConsensusLKNCYMCDLOCO
Forward P/E 14.9xFY2026 18.9xFY2026 15.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.16FY2026 $13.26FY2026 $0.97FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.0%FY2026 +8.7%FY2026 -1.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.8% +6.9% +22.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.63BFY2026 $29.26BFY2026 $481.37MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +36.6%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026 -1.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +20.8% -3.7% +6.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLKNCYMCDLOCO
Held by institutions 0.0% 74.2% 93.3%
Institutions holding 9 3,473 152
Change in shares held, QoQ +880.6% +0.4% +7.1%
Institutions buying 5 1,534 89
Institutions selling 0 1,485 42
Buyers to sellers – 1.03 2.12

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.

LKNCYMCDLOCO
LKNCY 1.00 0.02 0.03
MCD 0.02 1.00 0.22
LOCO 0.03 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LKNCY, MCD and LOCO?

Mcdonalds (MCD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) $8.71B, Mcdonalds (MCD) $177.50B, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) $443.82M.

Which stock is cheaper, LKNCY, MCD and LOCO?

El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) 20.1x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 20.2x, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 12.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) is cheapest (Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) 14.9x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 18.9x, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 15.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mcdonalds (MCD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mcdonalds (MCD) +6.3%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) +4.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest net margin (Mcdonalds (MCD) 31.7%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 7.0%). On return on invested capital, Mcdonalds (MCD) leads (Mcdonalds (MCD) 25.9%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 10.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) returned the most: Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) -18.9%, Mcdonalds (MCD) -18.0%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) +54.1%. Over five years, Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) compounded fastest (Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) +16.9%/yr, Mcdonalds (MCD) +0.7%/yr, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) +0.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Mcdonalds (MCD) 2.97%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 0.00%. Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) and El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mcdonalds (MCD) has been the steadiest (Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) 43.4%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 19.9%, El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) 37.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LKNCY, MCD and LOCO?

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 5. 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.