What's Going On With McDonald's Stock Today?

McDonald’s Corp. MCD shares are trading slightly higher Tuesday after multiple analysts raised their price targets ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report.

Analyst opinions:

1. Morgan Stanley Analyst John Glass: Maintained an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $296 to $340.
2. Evercore ISI Group Analyst David Palmer: Maintained an Outperform rating and raised the price target from $320 to $340.
3. Truist Securities Analyst Jake Bartlett: Maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $295 to $350.

Truist anticipates a strong third-quarter performance from McDonald’s, citing a potential beat in same-store sales (SSS) and earnings. The firm’s card data shows that McDonald’s U.S. system sales for third-quarter 2024 are estimated to be $13.7 billion, which is 0.7% above consensus. Bartlett’s projections suggest SSS growth of +0.5%, an improvement from earlier estimates of -1.5%, driven by menu innovation and successful promotions.

Bartlett notes that easing comparisons from last year, alongside the traction of McDonald’s $5 Meal Deal and the launch of the Chicken Big Mac on October 10, are expected to drive sales growth. The Collector’s Meal promo, which launched in August, also helped lift sales, resulting in year-over-year growth acceleration.

Additionally, Truist expects McDonald’s to benefit from favorable foreign exchange rates, leading the firm to increase its adjusted EBITDA estimate to $3.756 billion.

What Else: For the third-quarter, analysts estimate earnings per share (EPS) of $3.19 and revenue of $6.790 billion.

MCD Price Action: McDonald shares were up by 1.06% at $313.12 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.

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