How to buy McDonalds shares

Learn how to easily invest in McDonalds shares.

McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) is a publicly traded restaurants business based in the US which employs around 100,000 staff. McDonalds is listed on the NYSE and traded in US dollars. Its current price of $292.44 is 2.6% down on its price a month ago ($300.27).

How to buy shares in McDonalds

  1. Open a brokerage account. Choose from our top broker picks or compare brokers in depth. Then, complete an application.
  2. Fund your account. Add money to your account via bank transfer, debit card or credit card.
  3. Search the platform by ticker symbol. MCD in this case.
  4. Choose an order type. Place a market order or limit order with your preferred number of shares or dollar amount.
  5. Submit the order. It's that simple.
The whole process can take as little as 15 minutes. You'll need a smartphone or computer, an internet connection, your passport or driving licence and a means of payment.

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Fees calculator for buying McDonalds shares with popular apps

Both exchange rates and share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs estimated here should be considered as a guide only. They don't factor in spreads, which can be hard to pin down. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing.

Quantity of shares

5
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£0 (0.45% for funds) £1 £1,175.24
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Full comparison of share dealing platforms

These providers cover a wide range of stocks, but we can't guarantee they'll all offer this stock.

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.


Alternative ways to invest in McDonalds

Buying shares in just one company is generally considered a riskier bet than investing in a range of investments - AKA a "diversified portfolio". Experts generally recommend holding a mix of investments in specific assets and funds. Funds are ready-made portfolios of multiple companies' shares (potentially including McDonalds), and the idea is that drops in the value of one constituent company's share price might be offset by rises in others.

McDonalds is a major part of the NYSE, so it's included in many global funds and investment trusts, as well as tracker-style exchange traded funds (ETFs).

ETF5-year performance (to August 2024)Link to invest
Invesco S&P 500 (SPXP)Invesco icon94.07%Invest with XTBCapital at risk
Xtrackers S&P 500 Swap (XSPX)DWS Xtrackers icon93.77%Invest with XTBCapital at risk
iShares Core S&P 500 (CSP1)iShares icon91.84%Invest with XTBCapital at risk
HSBC S&P 500 (HSPX)HSBC icon80.38%Invest with XTBCapital at risk
Vanguard S&P 500 (VUSA)Vanguard icon79.29%Invest with XTBCapital at risk
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPX5)SPDR icon79.17%Invest with XTBCapital at risk

Is it a good time to buy McDonalds stock?

Review technicals and fundamentals to help you determine if now's a good time for you to invest.

Technical analysis

View McDonalds's price performance, share price volatility, historical data and technicals.

Use our graph to track the performance of MCD stock over time.

Historical closes compared with the last close of $292.44

1 week (2024-11-25) -7.07%
1 month (2024-11-02) -2.61%
3 months (2024-09-02) 16.73%
6 months (2024-06-02) 8.41%
1 year (2023-12-02) 16.09%
2 years (2022-12-02) 19.74%
3 years (2021-12-02) 31.90%
5 years (2019-12-02) 68.79%

The gauge below shows real-time ratings that are based on 26 popular indicators such as moving averages, for specific time periods. It's not a recommendation but is simply technical analysis that can form part of your research.

Finder might not agree with the analysis and we take no responsibility. We also give no representations or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the information provided on this page.

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All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.


Is McDonalds under- or over-valued?

Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value. Check out the McDonalds P/E ratio, PEG ratio and EBITDA.

McDonalds's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 26x. In other words, McDonalds's shares trade at around 26x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the United States stock markets on average as of November 09, 2023 (20.44). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

However, McDonalds's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the industry or those of similar companies.

McDonalds's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.7833. Higher PEG ratios such as this can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value given the current rate of growth.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into McDonalds's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

However, it's sensible to consider McDonalds's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.

McDonalds's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping $13.8 billion (£10.8 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of McDonalds's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

To put that into context you can compare it against similar companies.

Frequently asked questions

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.


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2 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    AdolphinaDecember 28, 2018

    Is it possible for me to buy shares even if im not in the business or have never been in the business industry?

      AvatarFinder
      JoshuaDecember 30, 2018Finder

      Hi Adolphina,

      Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)

      Yes, you can buy shares even if you’re not in business. As long as you have money to invest, you can do it. You can start by comparing trading platforms on this page, take note of their features, and click on the “Go to site” green button to learn more.

      I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.

      Have a wonderful day!

      Cheers,
      Joshua

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