McDonald's price to free cash flow MCD
Market value divided by free cash flow over the last twelve months, since 2010.
- Today, Oct 23, 2026
- 22.7×
- 10-year median
- 31.4×
- Against its 10-year history
- 5th
- percentile: 0 is its lowest day, 100 its highest
- 10-year range
- 19.0× to 49.6×
- Peer median
- 22.8×
McDonald's' price to free cash flow is 22.7× as of Oct 23, 2026.
That is below its ten-year median of 31.4×, lower than on 95% of days in the last ten years.
Over that time it ranged from 19.0× in Nov 2016 to 49.6× in Oct 2020.
The median for 5 restaurant stocks of a similar size is 22.8×.
Price to free cash flow over time
The dashed line is the 10-year median and the shaded band the middle half of its days.
Year by year
| Year | End of year | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far | 22.7× | 21.1× | 33.7× |
| 2025 | 30.0× | 28.9× | 34.4× |
| 2024 | 32.0× | 25.2× | 32.6× |
| 2023 | 29.9× | 27.0× | 39.4× |
| 2022 | 33.3× | 23.8× | 34.8× |
| 2021 | 30.1× | 24.9× | 38.1× |
| 2020 | 37.6× | 19.3× | 49.6× |
| 2019 | 28.7× | 27.9× | 35.8× |
| 2018 | 33.4× | 31.9× | 42.2× |
| 2017 | 40.7× | 20.7× | 41.2× |
| 2016 | 20.8× | 19.0× | 24.4× |
| 2015 | 23.2× | 19.9× | 24.6× |
| 2014 | 21.1× | 19.6× | 23.4× |
| 2013 | 23.1× | 22.5× | 26.5× |
| 2012 | 22.5× | 19.9× | 23.2× |
| 2011 | 22.9× | 18.1× | 22.9× |
| 2010 | 20.1× | 17.3× | 21.1× |
Against its peers
Companies in Restaurants nearest McDonald's' size, closest first, today.
| Company | Price to free cash flow |
|---|---|
| MCDMcDonald's | 22.7× |
| SBUXStarbucks | 31.6× |
| YUMYum! Brands | 24.3× |
| CMGChipotle Mexican Grill | 22.2× |
| QSRRestaurant Brands International | 21.0× |
| DRIDarden Restaurants | 22.8× |
| Peer median | 22.8× |
What the price to free cash flow tells you
Market value divided by free cash flow: the cash left after running the business and paying for equipment. Cash is harder to manage than accounting earnings, so many investors trust this more than PE.
Lumpy: a big year of building factories drops cash flow and inflates the ratio without the business getting worse.
More on McDonald's
Valuation data, not investment advice. Prices as of . Reported figures come from the company's filings with the SEC.