YUMC vs MCD Stock Comparison

Yum China Holdings and Mcdonalds Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
YUMC Yum China Holdings, Inc.
$45.54 +12.5% 1M +1.7% 1Y
Market cap
$15.82B
P/E
16.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.44B
Div. yield
0.02%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
6 wins
MCD Mcdonalds Corp
$250.84 +6.1% 1M -18.0% 1Y
Market cap
$177.37B
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 China Holdings 6). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionYUMCMCDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $15.82B $177.37B MCD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.2x 20.2x YUMC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.0x 18.9x YUMC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.8% +6.3% YUMC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.8% 31.7% MCD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.5% 25.9% MCD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.7x 2.6x YUMC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.03% MCD
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.7% -18.0% YUMC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.9%/yr +0.7%/yr MCD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 19.9% MCD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 75/100 50/100 YUMC

Percentile Scorecard

YUMCMCD

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

AxisYUMCMCD
Valuation 78 #12 of 50 18 #41 of 50
Growth 50 #24 of 47 39 #29 of 47
Profitability 64 #17 of 46 100 #1 of 46
Financial Health 88 #7 of 51 44 #29 of 51
Shareholder Returns 94 #3 of 33 47 #18 of 33
Overall 75 50
  • YUMC 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

PeriodYUMCMCDSPY
1 month +12.5%+6.1% -0.8%
3 months +1.8%-7.3% +3.5%
6 months -4.6%-13.6% +7.0%
Year to date -4.6%-17.9% +12.2%
1 year +1.7%-18.0% +13.0%
3 years -13.3%-1.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year -4.6%-0.6% +23.1%
5 years -22.3%+3.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year -4.9%+0.7% +11.0%
10 years +84.0%+123.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.3%+8.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureYUMCMCDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%19.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.2%20.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.27-0.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.06-0.90 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.6%-32.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.4%-26.5% -1.8%
52-week high $57.95$341.06 $779.14
52-week low $39.98$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.

MultipleYUMCMCD
P/E now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 20.5x 20.2xmedian 20.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.1x 6.4xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 13.3x 14.4xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.7xmedian 17.5x 24.0xmedian 17.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 3.1x -173.5xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.98median 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 monthsYUMCMCD
Revenue $12.44B $27.70B
Gross profit $2.14B $24.86B
Operating income $1.38B $12.80B
Net income $1.05B $8.79B
Free cash flow $940.00M $7.39B
EPS (diluted) $2.79 $12.36
Cash & equivalents $485.00M $822.00M
Total debt $66.00M $162.65B
Shares (diluted) 349.00M 711.10M
Enterprise value $9.48B $172.20B

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
MetricYUMCMCD
P/E 16.3x 20.2x
P/FCF 16.7x 24.0x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 15.6x
P/S 1.3x 6.4x
P/B 2.6x -173.5x
P/Tangible book 2.7x -173.5x
EV/EBITDA 7.8x 14.4x
EV/EBIT 10.4x 16.9x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 7.8x
EV/FCF 15.3x 29.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.1x 19.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.98 4.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricYUMCMCD
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.8% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.7% 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 4.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.8% 7.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 5.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.3% 4.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 3.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.7% 5.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.5% 4.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.6% 15.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.0% 9.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.7% 18.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.0% 8.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricYUMCMCD
Gross margin 17.2% 89.7%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 54.4%
Operating margin 11.1% 46.2%
Pretax margin 11.5% 40.4%
Net margin 7.8% 31.7%
FCF margin 7.6% 26.7%
Operating cash flow margin 12.7% 40.9%
Return on equity 17.3% –
Return on assets 9.7% 14.6%
Return on invested capital 16.5% 25.9%
Return on capital employed 16.4% 22.9%
Asset turnover 1.1x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricYUMCMCD
Debt / assets 0.6% 66.5%
Debt / equity 0.0x -39.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.7x 2.6x
Debt / FCF 0.1x 5.4x
Liabilities / assets 44.2% 101.7%
Equity / assets 55.8% -1.7%
Interest coverage – 7.9x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.73 4.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricYUMCMCD
Dividend yield 2.4% 3.0%
Net buyback yield 8.3% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 10.7% 4.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 35.7% 59.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 40.0% 70.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 24.5% 4.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 21.6% 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.

ConsensusYUMCMCD
Forward P/E 15.0xFY2026 18.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.04FY2026 $13.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +21.1%FY2026 +8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.5% +6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.37BFY2026 $29.23BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.8%FY2026 +8.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.3% -4.0%

Institutional Ownership

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

YUMCMCD
YUMC 1.00 0.33
MCD 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, YUMC and MCD?

Mcdonalds (MCD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Yum China Holdings (YUMC) $15.82B, Mcdonalds (MCD) $177.37B.

Which stock is cheaper, YUMC and MCD?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 16.2x, Mcdonalds (MCD) 20.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) is cheapest (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 15.0x, 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?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +8.8%, Mcdonalds (MCD) +6.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest net margin (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 7.8%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 31.7%). On return on invested capital, Mcdonalds (MCD) leads (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 16.5%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 25.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Yum China Holdings (YUMC) returned the most: Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +1.7%, Mcdonalds (MCD) -18.0%. Over five years, Mcdonalds (MCD) compounded fastest (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) -4.9%/yr, Mcdonalds (MCD) +0.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mcdonalds (MCD) has the highest dividend yield: Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 0.02%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mcdonalds (MCD) has been the steadiest (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 25.6%, Mcdonalds (MCD) 19.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do YUMC and MCD move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.33, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, YUMC 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.