Q1 2025 EPS Estimates for McDonald’s Co. Cut by Wedbush (NYSE:MCD)

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Research analysts at Wedbush dropped their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for McDonald’s in a report issued on Wednesday, May 1st. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now expects that the fast-food giant will post earnings per share of $2.91 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.97. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $12.18 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q3 2025 earnings at $3.57 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MCD opened at $270.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $279.53 and a 200-day moving average of $282.76. McDonald’s has a 1-year low of $245.73 and a 1-year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,684,899,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 10,702.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $644,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154,297 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in McDonald’s by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $192,165,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.