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McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE; ticker: MCD) is one of – if not the – most well-known US brands and, arguably, the most successful restaurant chain worldwide, with 41,822 restaurants in over 100 countries (as of the year-end 2023).
With a market value (market capitalisation) of US$217 billion, McDonald’s is, by far, the world’s largest fast-food restaurant chain.
The company boasts a long and rich history dating back to the 1950s, with its foundation largely credited to one man, Ray Kroc. The company’s primary operation consists of franchising and operating McDonald’s fast-food restaurants. The McDonald’s menu caters to national tastes, but staple options include burgers, fries, chicken, and breakfast. Impressively, 95% of its restaurants are franchised, demanding a labour force of more than 2 million.
CFDs are contracts formed by two parties, allowing investors to take long (buy) and short (sell) positions in company share prices such as McDonald’s. With FP Markets, McDonald’s Share CFDs can be traded between 16:30 and 23:00 GMT+3 (Monday to Friday).
Importantly, CFDs commit both parties to exchange the difference between each trade's opening and closing price. Unlike owning physical company shares, with CFDs, given their derivative, cash-settled approach, you can speculate and hedge on the stock's price without owning it. This is the same for trading other Individual Stocks, Global Indexes, Currencies (Forex), Commodities, Bonds, Digital Currencies, and more.
A key observation for the CFD market is the availability of leverage. While you can obtain leverage when physically dealing in shares, investing with CFDs provides greater leverage options. Suppose McDonald’s trades at US$50 per share, and Investor A wants to buy 100 shares. Overlooking any commissions or fees, purchasing 100 shares would set the investor back US$5,000 (without leverage). Investor B, on the other hand, invests using CFDs. With FP Markets, the margin requirement to trade the MCD stock is 20%. Investor B would only be required to ‘deposit’ 20% of the initial investment value: US$1,000 (US$5,000 * 0.2) to trade an equivalent position size of 100 shares. The difference between share dealing and CFD investing is that the former involves physical ownership while the latter does not.
1. Open an FP Markets Forex and CFD Trading Account
If you are interested in investing in Share CFDs with FP Markets, you must open a live Forex and CFD trading account. Navigate to the FP Market’s homepage and click the ‘OPEN LIVE’ button to begin the Account Application process.
2. Download your Trading Platform
FP Markets offers access to superior trading platforms, including MetaTrader 4 and 5 (MT4/5), TradingView, and cTrader. MT5 and cTrader are popular platforms for trading Share CFDs.
Following registration, use your login details to access the FP Markets Client Portal. Within the Portal, a number of tasks can be performed, from updating personal information to exploring Social Trading opportunities, checking out the wide selection of Trading Tools, and selecting and downloading your preferred trading platform.
3. Find the MCD Ticker
After logging in to your trading platform (MT5), press Ctrl+M to open the Market Watch. As you can see from the image below, your Market Watch lists the available bid and ask quotes for the financial instruments available to trade with FP Markets.
To find the McDonald’s ticker, you can right-click the Market Watch tab and select ‘Show All’ or type ‘MCD’ at the bottom to create an individual row for the stock. You can then right-click the stock and select ‘Chart Window’ to create a new chart or simply drag/drop the security to the chart’s main interface.
4. Place the Buy or Sell Order
Buying and selling Share CFDs on MT5 is straightforward. You can access MT5’s order window by pressing F9 or right-clicking the Trading Terminal (Ctrl+M) and selecting ‘New Order’. The order window allows investors to enter several trading parameters, including key variables such as Trading Volume, Order Type, Stop-Loss and Take-Profit values. Once these data are entered, click the buy or sell tab to execute the trade. One-Click Trading is an alternative to the order window, a feature largely used by short-term traders, such as scalpers and day traders (shown in the upper left corner in the image below).
Opening Long and Short Trading Positions:
 Stock Price Chart.png)
McDonald’s reported US$6.5 billion in revenue for Q2 24. Despite declining sales across every division due to negative comparable sales in several markets and tensions in the Middle East, the stock has impressively rebounded in August, breaking back above the 200-day moving average and reaching an all-time high of US$306.96 on 27 September.
The current P/E (price-to-earnings) ratio (TTM) is 26.6, slightly above the historical average. McDonald's has a strong history of returning capital to its shareholders; the company recently raised its quarterly cash dividend by 6%, marking the 49th consecutive year of increasing dividends since 1976.
Looking ahead, burger enthusiasts are highly anticipating the upcoming launch of the Chicken Big Mac in the US on 10 October. With the growing preference for chicken burgers, this initiative might further boost sales for the fast-food giant.
According to Refinitiv data (see image below), 65% of analysts are currently bullish; 20% recommend a ‘Strong Buy’, a recommendation that has been consistent since July of this year. However, 35% of the analysts supported a ‘Hold’ recommendation. The current Median Price Target for the MCD stock is US$301.50, while the Mean Price Target is US$303.23.
The long-term trend for McDonald’s is biased to the upside, recently forging a fresh record high of US$306.96 following a third straight month in the green.
While the MCD stock is demonstrating an unmistakable upward-facing market shaped by way of a series of higher highs/lows, warning signs are evident. Momentum has been slowing; this can be seen through price action trading between two converging lines – known among technical analysts as a Rising Wedge Pattern – and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) showing clear negative divergence. Some analysts may argue that the RSI has failed to move/hold beneath its 50.00 centreline on four occasions since 2020 (it is common to see the area between 40.00 and 50.00 form support amid trending markets); therefore, the negative divergence has yet to be confirmed.
On the daily chart, the immediate trend is also on the upside, with market dips short-lived and aggressively bought into. Therefore, given this and the recent record high, support at US$298.74 is a key base to keep an eye on and could welcome technical dip-buying if retested (per the red arrows).
Chart Created Using TradingView
Investing in physical shares of McDonald’s is a common alternative investors may explore, involving taking partial ownership of the company proportionate to the number of shares purchased. Companies like McDonald’s issue shares for several reasons, from fulfilling debt obligations to funding growth.
If you become a part-owner of a company, the value of your investment will fluctuate depending on the share price. Additionally, some companies distribute regular dividend payments, with many investors also receiving voting rights.
Some investors may invest in McDonald’s through the futures and options markets. It is important to understand that both futures and options contracts represent derivative products; they operate similarly to CFDs, only futures and options are generally exchange-traded (CFDs trade over the counter [OTC]), and physical delivery is a possibility in these markets (CFDs are cash-settled).
Both the buyer and seller are obligated to transact in a futures contract at a predefined price value at a specific date. In the options markets, however, the obligation only falls on the seller (the writer), while buyers have the right but not the obligation to transact.
ETFs offer investors another way to gain exposure to the stock market, structured as pooled investment vehicles that trade on a stock exchange. As a result, ETFs – generally grouped as either passively or actively managed – can be traded similarly to stocks during exchange hours.
While you can invest in ETFs with exposure to the McDonald’s stock, this will not mirror the price movement of MCD. Investors are generally drawn to ETFs for their diversification benefits, low management requirements and flexibility.
1. Does MCD pay a dividend?
Yes, MCD currently pays an annual dividend of 2.33%.
2. What are the major differences between CFDs and physical shares?
Two key differences separating CFDs and physical shares are ownership rights and leverage options. Dealing in physical shares entails partial ownership rights corresponding to the number of shares of the company purchased. At the same time, CFDs are derivatives whereby investors trade based on the underlying price movement of the stock, with no direct ownership involved. Regarding leverage, physical shares are regularly traded without leverage; however, the leverage offered is much greater with CFDs.
3. Can I trade MCD on MT5?
With FP Markets, MCD can be traded on MT5 and cTrader.
4. What are the trading hours for MCD?
The trading hours for MCD are between 16:30 and 23:00 GMT+3 (Monday-Friday).
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