McDonald’s Q3 Report Draws Price Target Hikes Across Wall Street – Freedom Broker Has A Different Take

• Bernstein raised its price target to $280 from $250 and maintained a ‘Market Perform’ rating, calling Q3 an important step in McDonald’s U.S. recovery as sales trends turned positive in September and traffic improved further in October, according to The Fly.
• Wells Fargo raised its price target to $300 from $270, maintaining an ‘Overweight’ rating, and cited progress on value while cautioning that investor skepticism may persist, The Fly reported.
• Eighteen out of 33 analysts covering the stock rate it ‘Buy’ or ‘Strong Buy’, whereas 14 rate it ‘Hold’ and one rate the stock ‘Sell’, according to Kofin data.

McDonald’s (MCD) shares drew investor attention after multiple analysts raised their price targets following the company’s third-quarter results, while Freedom Broker downgraded the stock on valuation concerns.

According to The Fly, Freedom Broker downgraded McDonald’s to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ and lowered its price target to $298 from $305. The analyst described the downgrade as ‘valuation-driven’, noting that following a 6.5% post-earnings rally, the shares were trading within about 5% of the firm's revised price target.

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MCD shares traded 1.4% lower at the time of writing. 

Eighteen out of 33 analysts covering the stock rate it ‘Buy’ or ‘Strong Buy’, whereas 14 rate it ‘Hold’ and one rates it ‘Sell’, according to KoyFin data. Their 12-month price target ranges from $230 to $390, with an average of $291.75.

Analysts Point To Improving US Sales Trends

Bernstein raised its price target to $280 from $250 and maintained a ‘Market Perform’ rating, according to The Fly. The firm called the Q3 update an important step forward in McDonald’s U.S. recovery. It noted that U.S. comparable sales declined more than it had estimated, but trends improved during the quarter, turning positive in September, with further improvement in baseline traffic in October.

Wells Fargo also raised its price target to $300 from $270 and maintained an ‘Overweight’ rating. The firm said the quarter cleared a low bar and pointed to notable progress on value, including new steps planned for 2027. However, it cautioned that investor skepticism could persist, The Fly reported.

Source: The Fly

BTIG raised its price target to $305 from $295 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating, according to The Fly. The firm described the quarter as mixed but largely encouraging, saying earnings upside and reassuring U.S. trends outweighed low-single-digit comparable sales that were largely in line.

RBC Capital raised its price target to $300 from $285 and maintained a ‘Sector Perform’ rating, according to The Fly. The firm noted that U.S. same-store sales growth turned positive in September and continued into October. However, it cautioned that comparisons would become more difficult as McDonald’s laps its Grinch limited-time offer in December. RBC also said FY26 unit growth guidance was slightly lowered as franchisee paybacks remain under pressure, The Fly reported.

How Retail Views MCD

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock remained ‘Neutral’ territory in the past 24 hours, amid ‘High’ message volumes.

MCD shares have dropped over 11% year-to-date.

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