Wedbush Brokers Decrease Earnings Estimates for McDonald’s

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Wedbush cut their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for McDonald’s in a research report issued on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now forecasts that the fast-food giant will post earnings of $2.59 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.79. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.73 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q2 2025 earnings at $3.00 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.24 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.05 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $11.88 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.82 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.23 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.48 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.28 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $12.80 EPS.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MCD. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday. Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $307.47 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $291.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.08. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $220.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.