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STOCK COMPARISON

McDonald’s vs Compass Group PLC: Fair Value & Quality

Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how McDonald’s (MCD) and Compass Group PLC (XGR2) compare, as of Oct 3, 2026.

As of Oct 3, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees McDonald’s as the less overvalued of the two: McDonald’s trades at $232 versus a fair value of $163 (−29.8%), while Compass Group PLC trades at €26.74 versus €16.10 (−39.8%).
McDonald’s
MCD · USD · Consumer Discretionary
−29.8%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$232
Fair Value$163
Quality69/100
Compass Group PLC
XGR2.XETRA · EUR · Communication Services
−39.8%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price€26.74
Fair Value€16.10
Quality58/100
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Head-to-head numbers

Green is the better side of a row, red the weaker one (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper). Grey rows are for reference only and are not scored.

betterweakerfor reference, not scored

McDonald’sCompass Group PLC
Valuation
18.8×P/E (TTM)25.7×
16.7×Forward P/E (FY2027)n/a
25.5×Median P/E at FY-end (10 FY, ex one-offs where documented)n/a
5.97×P/S (TTM)1.06×
Negative equityP/B6.71× · book value is mostly goodwill
13.7×EV/EBITDA14.4×
2.06×PEG1.69×
−29.8%Fair value upside−39.8%
3.2%Dividend yield2.2%
$7.35Dividend per share€0.59
Profitability
46.5%Operating margin6.7%
1.21×EBIT margin trend (5Y)2.31×
Negative equityReturn on equity26.9%
13.3%Return on assets7.3%
Growth
3.7%Revenue growth (YoY)10.7%
5.1%Avg. growth/yr (3Y)32.9%
7.0%Avg. growth/yr (5Y)11.0%
+11.9%Value creation/yr+35.5%
Balance & size
7.8×Interest coverage (EBIT/interest)7.1×
Negative equityDebt / equity0.58×
$165BMarket cap$51B
healthyGrowth qualityhealthy
McDonald’s, median P/E at fiscal year-end, 10 fiscal years (2016 to 2025), reported earnings, 5 of the years ex one-offs: 25.5.
Forward P/E: price divided by the analyst consensus for the first fiscal year that has not started yet. The current year carries special items from quarters already reported.
Valuation multiples (P/E, P/S, P/B, EV/EBITDA) are shown but not scored here: the two companies sit in different sectors, and multiples only compare fairly between similar business models. PEG stays scored, as it relates the P/E to growth.

Even match: 5 to 5 metric wins.

n/a = not meaningfully computable, for example with negative equity.

Quality in detail

The quality score, broken down into the same factor families as on the stock page, 0 to 100 per family.

McDonald’sof which business quality 64 · market factors 39 Compass Group PLCof which business quality 57 · market factors 55
ProfitabilityMargins and returns on capital today
64
51
Quality GrowthAre margins and returns improving?
46
26
CashflowEarnings quality: real cash, not paper profit
76
61
Fin. StrengthBalance sheet, leverage, solvency risk
53
51
InvestmentDisciplined investing over empire-building
57
64
Low VolatilityCalm price path (market factor)
95
82
MomentumPrice trend over the last 3–12 months (market factor)
20
46
52W MomentumDistance to the 52-week high (market factor)
6
40
Net IssuanceShare count: buybacks or dilution?
88
92

What the models say

How far the median fair value (base case) per model family sits from the current price, in percent. The amount in the currency of the trading venue is shown underneath.

above the price, more than 15% above close to the price, 85% to 115% of the price below the price, more than 15% below

Model familyMcDonald’sPrice $232Compass Group PLCPrice €26.74
DCF Models−40.7%below the price$138−29.8%below the price€18.78
Earnings-Based−55.8%below the price$103−74.3%below the price€6.86
Dividend Discount−57.4%below the price$98.79−73.0%below the price€7.23
Multiples−2.6%close to the price$226−43.3%below the price€15.17
Asset-Basedn/a−90.0%below the price€2.67
Growth DCF−67.0%below the price$76.46−29.8%below the price€18.77
Economic Profit−50.9%below the price$114−69.6%below the price€8.13
Growth Earnings−9.5%close to the price$210−45.1%below the price€14.67
Minimum−67.0%below the price$76.46−90.0%below the price€2.67
Maximum−2.6%close to the price$226−29.8%below the price€18.78
Median−50.9%below the price$114−57.4%below the price€11.40
Geometric mean−44.6%below the price$128−63.4%below the price€9.79

Minimum, maximum, median and geometric mean refer to the family values in this table. Geometric because deviations are ratios: half the price and twice the price average to 100%, not 125%.

McDonald’s: 19 of 21 models see the stock below the current price.

Compass Group PLC: 26 of 26 models see the stock below the current price.

Scenario ranges

From our cautious bear scenario to the optimistic bull scenario. The white tick is the current price (value above it), the green tick the fair value (value below it): if the price sits left of the fair value, there is room to rise.

McDonald’s
Price $232
Fair Value $163
Bear $91.85Bull $252
Compass Group PLC
Price €26.74
Fair Value €16.10
Bear €11.25Bull €20.32

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Ranked within their sector

Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.

McDonald’s · Consumer Discretionary

Quality score69 · Top 25%
Fair value upside−29.8% · below median

Compass Group PLC · Communication Services

Quality score58 · above median
Fair value upside−39.8% · below median

Bottom line

As of Oct 3, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees McDonald’s as the less overvalued of the two: McDonald’s trades at $232 versus a fair value of $163 (−29.8%), while Compass Group PLC trades at €26.74 versus €16.10 (−39.8%).

McDonald’s has the higher quality score (69/100).

Open McDonald’s live analysis →

More comparisons

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A model-based valuation snapshot from 26 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.