YUM vs MCD Stock Comparison

Yum Brands and Mcdonalds Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
YUM Yum Brands Inc
$149.51 +7.9% 1M +4.6% 1Y
Market cap
$41.23B
P/E
18.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.72B
Div. yield
0.02%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
6 wins
MCD Mcdonalds Corp
$249.47 +5.5% 1M -19.5% 1Y
Market cap
$177.61B
P/E
20.2x
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 6). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionYUMMCDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $41.23B $177.61B MCD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.6x 20.2x YUM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.8x 18.8x MCD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.3% +6.3% YUM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 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 0.02% 0.03% MCD
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.6% -19.5% YUM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.5%/yr +0.3%/yr YUM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.4% 19.9% MCD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 50/100 YUM

Percentile Scorecard

YUMMCD

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

AxisYUMMCD
Valuation 20 #40 of 50 18 #41 of 50
Growth 65 #17 of 47 39 #29 of 47
Profitability 98 #2 of 46 100 #1 of 46
Financial Health 16 #43 of 51 44 #29 of 51
Shareholder Returns 63 #13 of 33 47 #18 of 33
Overall 52 50
  • 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

PeriodYUMMCDSPY
1 month +7.9%+5.5% -0.2%
3 months -0.6%-8.6% +3.9%
6 months -4.4%-14.7% +8.2%
Year to date -1.2%-18.4% +12.9%
1 year +4.6%-19.5% +12.3%
3 years +25.2%-2.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.8%-0.8% +23.3%
5 years +18.8%+1.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +3.5%+0.3% +10.9%
10 years +143.6%+122.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.3%+8.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureYUMMCDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.4%19.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.0%20.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.01-0.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.18-0.98 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -24.2%-32.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.1%-26.9% -1.2%
52-week high $168.16$341.06 $779.14
52-week low $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.

MultipleYUMMCD
P/E now vs peer median 18.5xmedian 20.6x 20.1xmedian 20.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 1.2x 6.4xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 13.3x 14.3xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 17.3x 23.9xmedian 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median -5.7xmedian 3.1x -172.6xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.07median 1.07 4.68median 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 monthsYUMMCD
Revenue $8.72B $27.70B
Gross profit $5.94B $24.86B
Operating income $2.70B $12.80B
Net income $2.22B $8.79B
Free cash flow $1.68B $7.39B
EPS (diluted) $8.00 $12.36
Cash & equivalents $674.00M $822.00M
Total debt $12.28B $162.65B
Shares (diluted) 277.00M 711.10M
Enterprise value $38.12B $172.43B

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
MetricYUMMCD
P/E 18.5x 20.1x
P/FCF 24.3x 23.9x
P/Operating cash flow 19.6x 15.6x
P/S 4.7x 6.4x
P/B -5.7x -172.6x
P/Tangible book -5.2x -172.6x
EV/EBITDA 17.8x 14.3x
EV/EBIT 19.4x 16.8x
EV/Revenue 6.0x 7.8x
EV/FCF 31.2x 29.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.2x 19.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.07 4.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricYUMMCD
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.3% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.5% 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 4.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.5% 7.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 5.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 54.8% 4.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.0% 3.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 57.1% 5.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 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
MetricYUMMCD
Gross margin 68.1% 89.7%
EBITDA margin 33.7% 54.4%
Operating margin 31.0% 46.2%
Pretax margin 25.2% 40.4%
Net margin 25.4% 31.7%
FCF margin 19.3% 26.7%
Operating cash flow margin 23.9% 40.9%
Return on equity – –
Return on assets 26.2% 14.6%
Return on invested capital 54.9% 25.9%
Return on capital employed 65.1% 22.9%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricYUMMCD
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 181.9% 101.7%
Equity / assets -81.9% -1.7%
Interest coverage – 7.9x
Current ratio 0.6x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.24 4.59

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricYUMMCD
Dividend yield 2.0% 3.0%
Net buyback yield 2.2% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 4.2% 4.2%
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.

ConsensusYUMMCD
Forward P/E 23.8xFY2026 18.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.29FY2026 $13.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.7% +6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.06BFY2026 $29.23BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.3%FY2026 +8.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.0% -4.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersYUMMCD
Held by institutions 88.7% 74.2%
Institutions holding 1,435 3,475
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.6% +0.4%
Institutions buying 626 1,535
Institutions selling 488 1,486
Buyers to sellers 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.

YUMMCD
YUM 1.00 0.58
MCD 0.58 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, YUM and MCD?

Mcdonalds (MCD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Yum Brands (YUM) $41.23B, Mcdonalds (MCD) $177.61B.

Which stock is cheaper, YUM and MCD?

Yum Brands (YUM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Yum Brands (YUM) 18.6x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 20.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mcdonalds (MCD) is cheapest (Yum Brands (YUM) 23.8x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 18.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

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

Which company is more profitable?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest net margin (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: Yum Brands (YUM) +4.6%, Mcdonalds (MCD) -19.5%. Over five years, Yum Brands (YUM) compounded fastest (Yum Brands (YUM) +3.5%/yr, Mcdonalds (MCD) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest dividend yield: Yum Brands (YUM) 0.02%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mcdonalds (MCD) has been the steadiest (Yum Brands (YUM) 25.4%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 19.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do YUM and MCD move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.58, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, 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.