Fast food giant McDonald's Corporation
Here are the earnings estimates, analyst ratings and key items to watch:
McDonald's Q2 Earnings Estimates
Analysts expect McDonald's to report second-quarter revenue of $7.13 billion, up from $6.84 billion in last year's second quarter, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in two straight quarters and in five of the last 10 quarters overall.
The estimated revenue would be a company record, breaking the $7.08 billion reported in the third quarter, and would be the third of four quarters to have revenue of $7 billion or more.
Analysts expect McDonald's to report second-quarter earnings per share of $3.32, up from $3.19 in last year's second quarter.
The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in two straight quarters and in seven of the last 10 quarters overall.
McDonald's Analyst Ratings and Price Targets
Here are some of the recent analyst ratings on McDonald's and their price targets:
- Mizuho: Maintained Neutral rating, lowered price target from $300 to $290
- UBS: Maintained Buy rating, lowered price target from $365 to $340
- BTIG: Maintained Buy rating, lowered price target from $370 to $350
- Evercore ISI: Maintained Outperform rating, lowered price target from $350 to $320
- Wells Fargo: Maintained Overweight rating, lowered price target from $320 to $300
This could be an important quarter for McDonald's with the stock currently trading at 24-month lows.
A report from Placer.ai says visits were down 4.5% in the second quarter with year-over-year declines of 4.3%, 5.1% and 4.3% in April, May and June respectively.
The decline in visits could be for various reasons, with a high likelihood that higher gas prices kept consumers away. A Benzinga poll of viewers showed that cutting back restaurant spending could be a top area to save money.
A foodborne illness outbreak of cyclospora could also be keeping people away from restaurants. While McDonald's wasn't named as an outbreak site, some consumers may have chose to stay away from all fast food options or all restaurants until more details emerged.
Offsetting these potential weaknesses were several positives for McDonald's in the quarter. The company has a major 2026 World Cup partnership that saw the launch of collectible cups and may have attracted more visitors to locations willing to spend up on food and extra items.
The World Cup helped provide a strong quarter for Coca-Cola
McDonald's also launched its $3 menu in April that features several food items like the McDouble, McChicken and Sausage McMuffin. The company also launched a $4 meal deal for breakfast.
These cheaper food items were expected to bring customers back to the restaurants or in for more frequent visits.
McDonald's focus on loyalty members could be another topic to watch. In the first quarter, sales to loyalty members were more than $9 billion.
The themes of higher gas prices, World Cup and cheaper food could all be factors in the results. The question is which theme plays out the highest.
McDonald's Stock Price Action
McDonald's stock is down 0.2% to $270.05 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $260.96 to $341.75. McDonald's stock is down 11.1% year-to-date in 2026.
