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McDonald's (MCD) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

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In the latest market close, McDonald's (MCD - Free Report) reached $251.53, with a -0.93% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.28%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.53%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.4%.

The world's biggest hamburger chain's shares have seen an increase of 0.13% over the last month, not keeping up with the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 1.3% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.78%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of McDonald's in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on July 29, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.10, reflecting a 2.21% decrease from the same quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.68 billion, up 2.83% from the year-ago period.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $12.17 per share and a revenue of $26.6 billion, representing changes of +1.93% and +4.32%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for McDonald's. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.03% higher. Right now, McDonald's possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, McDonald's is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.86. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.8.

We can additionally observe that MCD currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.86. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Retail - Restaurants industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.84.

The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 108, this industry ranks in the top 43% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.


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