SBUX vs QSR vs MCD Stock Comparison

Starbucks, Restaurant Brands International and Mcdonalds Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SBUX Starbucks Corp
$102.69 +8.3% 1M +19.3% 1Y
Market cap
$117.41B
P/E
59.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.34B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
3 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
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mcdonalds leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Mcdonalds 4, Restaurant Brands International 4, Starbucks 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSBUXQSRMCDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $117.41B $25.75B $176.83B MCD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 59.2x 20.2x 20.1x MCD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 41.7x 18.8x 18.9x QSR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.5% +6.5% +6.3% QSR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.2% 13.1% 31.7% MCD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 31.4% 12.1% 25.9% SBUX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 4.2x 2.6x SBUX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.3% +10.4% -18.0% SBUX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.0%/yr +5.7%/yr +0.7%/yr QSR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.6% 25.0% 19.9% MCD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 34/100 52/100 50/100 QSR

Percentile Scorecard

SBUXQSRMCD

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

AxisSBUXQSRMCD
Valuation 6 #47 of 50 43 #29 of 50 18 #41 of 50
Growth 17 #39 of 47 63 #18 of 47 39 #29 of 47
Profitability 69 #15 of 46 67 #16 of 46 100 #1 of 46
Financial Health 42 #30 of 51 30 #36 of 51 44 #29 of 51
Shareholder Returns 34 #22 of 33 56 #15 of 33 47 #18 of 33
Overall 34 52 50
  • SBUX ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • QSR 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

PeriodSBUXQSRMCDSPY
1 month +8.3%+3.9%+6.1% -0.8%
3 months -0.9%+0.0%-7.3% +3.5%
6 months +4.9%-5.6%-13.6% +7.0%
Year to date +21.9%+9.1%-17.9% +12.2%
1 year +19.3%+10.4%-18.0% +13.0%
3 years +11.6%+13.0%-1.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +3.7%+4.2%-0.6% +23.1%
5 years -9.5%+31.7%+3.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year -2.0%+5.7%+0.7% +11.0%
10 years +91.5%+72.8%+123.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.7%+5.6%+8.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSBUXQSRMCDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.6%25.0%19.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.0%25.8%20.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.530.05-0.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.700.42-0.90 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.2%-27.5%-32.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.4%-8.8%-26.5% -1.8%
52-week high $108.55$81.67$341.06 $779.14
52-week low $79.60$65.69$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.

MultipleSBUXQSRMCD
P/E now vs peer median 59.0xmedian 20.5x 20.4xmedian 20.5x 20.2xmedian 20.5x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 1.1x 2.7xmedian 1.1x 6.4xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 27.3xmedian 13.3x 13.0xmedian 13.3x 14.4xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.1xmedian 17.5x 15.9xmedian 17.5x 24.0xmedian 17.5x
P/B now vs peer median -15.3xmedian 3.1x 4.8xmedian 3.1x -173.5xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median -3.07median 1.07 2.70median 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 monthsSBUXQSRMCD
Revenue $38.34B $9.70B $27.70B
Gross profit – $5.24B $24.86B
Operating income $2.98B $2.61B $12.80B
Net income $1.98B $1.70B $8.79B
Free cash flow $3.64B $1.63B $7.39B
EPS (diluted) $1.73 $2.77 $12.36
Cash & equivalents $3.45B $1.06B $822.00M
Total debt $13.28B $13.29B $162.65B
Shares (diluted) 1.14B 460.00M 711.10M
Enterprise value $105.04B $21.31B $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
MetricSBUXQSRMCD
P/E 59.0x 20.4x 20.2x
P/FCF 32.1x 15.9x 24.0x
P/Operating cash flow 23.5x 13.7x 15.6x
P/S 3.1x 2.7x 6.4x
P/B -15.3x 4.8x -173.5x
P/Tangible book -14.9x -4.7x -173.5x
EV/EBITDA 27.3x 13.0x 14.4x
EV/EBIT 42.6x 14.7x 16.9x
EV/Revenue 3.3x 3.9x 7.8x
EV/FCF 34.8x 23.4x 29.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.4x 20.1x 19.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.07 2.70 4.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSBUXQSRMCD
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.5% 6.5% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 12.7% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 5.1% 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.1% 4.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -24.9% 22.3% 7.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -17.8% 11.0% 5.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -24.7% 41.5% 4.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -19.4% 4.4% 3.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -24.9% 47.2% 5.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -19.2% 7.5% 4.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.7% 19.9% 15.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.2% 13.3% 9.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 61.6% 20.5% 18.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 11.2% 8.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSBUXQSRMCD
Gross margin – 54.0% 89.7%
EBITDA margin 12.1% 30.3% 54.4%
Operating margin 7.8% 26.9% 46.2%
Pretax margin 8.0% 21.7% 40.4%
Net margin 5.2% 13.1% 31.7%
FCF margin 9.5% 16.8% 26.7%
Operating cash flow margin 13.0% 19.6% 40.9%
Return on equity – 31.8% –
Return on assets 6.7% 6.8% 14.6%
Return on invested capital 31.4% 12.1% 25.9%
Return on capital employed 15.3% 11.5% 22.9%
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x 1.1x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 1.4% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSBUXQSRMCD
Debt / assets 46.9% 53.1% 66.5%
Debt / equity -1.7x 2.5x -39.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 4.2x 2.6x
Debt / FCF 3.6x 8.1x 5.4x
Liabilities / assets 127.1% 78.4% 101.7%
Equity / assets -27.1% 21.6% -1.7%
Interest coverage 5.4x – 7.9x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.8x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.13 1.65 4.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSBUXQSRMCD
Dividend yield 2.4% 3.5% 3.0%
Net buyback yield -0.1% 0.5% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 3.9% 4.1%
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.

ConsensusSBUXQSRMCD
Forward P/E 41.7xFY2026 18.8xFY2026 18.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.46FY2026 $3.96FY2026 $13.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.5%FY2026 +7.3%FY2026 +8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.5% +8.1% +6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $35.66BFY2026 $10.27BFY2026 $29.23BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.1%FY2026 +8.9%FY2026 +8.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% -10.0% -4.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSBUXQSRMCD
Held by institutions 85.6% 92.2% 74.2%
Institutions holding 2,399 575 3,473
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +6.5% +0.4%
Institutions buying 1,096 319 1,534
Institutions selling 991 165 1,485
Buyers to sellers 1.11 1.93 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.

SBUXQSRMCD
SBUX 1.00 0.38 0.34
QSR 0.38 1.00 0.38
MCD 0.34 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SBUX, QSR and MCD?

Mcdonalds (MCD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Starbucks (SBUX) $117.41B, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) $25.75B, Mcdonalds (MCD) $176.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, SBUX, QSR and MCD?

Mcdonalds (MCD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Starbucks (SBUX) 59.2x, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 20.2x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 20.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) is cheapest (Starbucks (SBUX) 41.7x, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 18.8x, 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?

Restaurant Brands International (QSR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Starbucks (SBUX) +4.5%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) +6.5%, Mcdonalds (MCD) +6.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest net margin (Starbucks (SBUX) 5.2%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 13.1%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 31.7%). On return on invested capital, Starbucks (SBUX) leads (Starbucks (SBUX) 31.4%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 12.1%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 25.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Starbucks (SBUX) returned the most: Starbucks (SBUX) +19.3%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) +10.4%, Mcdonalds (MCD) -18.0%. Over five years, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) compounded fastest (Starbucks (SBUX) -2.0%/yr, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) +5.7%/yr, Mcdonalds (MCD) +0.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Starbucks (SBUX) 0.00%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 0.00%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 0.03%. Starbucks (SBUX) and Restaurant Brands International (QSR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mcdonalds (MCD) has been the steadiest (Starbucks (SBUX) 27.6%, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 25.0%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 19.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SBUX, QSR 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 4. 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.