Is McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) the Best Dow Stock?

We recently published a list of The Best and Worst Dow Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) stands against other Dow stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a benchmark index of the top 30 companies in the US. It represents the strength of the US economy and carries great historical significance as well.

It also acts as a reference point for analysts and investors. However, not all stocks within this elite group of companies perform equally. While some thrive on innovation and economic boom, others struggle due to various setbacks and economic trends.

We decided to break down the index and find out the best and worst stocks, looking at what was making them perform unexpectedly this year.

Methodology

In order to come up with our ranking of the best and worst Dow stocks, we first assigned a rank to each stock based on the number of hedge funds holding the stock. We then looked at the short interest in each stock and assigned the top rank to the company with the least short interest.

We then combined the two ranks to see which stock was the best on average. The list is in ascending order, with the best stock taking the number one spot.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

A cook in a busy kitchen assembling cheeseburgers for orders.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 67

Short Interest as of Apr 30, 2025: 1.61%

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) is an operator, owner, and franchisor of restaurants. It operates under the McDonald’s brand name. The company is treating its customers to a new item, the first permanent menu item addition in four years: the McCrispy Strips. These chicken tenders boast a black pepper flavor that has both franchisees and customers excited!

The company announced its quarterly earnings last week, though it didn’t feature the month of April, which has seen a notable improvement in sales. The promotion of the Minecraft movie drove more families to the restaurants, which further boosted numbers. Going ahead, sales improvement may not be that big a headache due to the comparison with lower sales last year.

The management confirmed in the Q1 earnings that the 2025 projections provided at the last earnings call in February remained intact. There could be a possible foreign exchange tailwind as well.

The stock has recovered well from the tariff-induced crash earlier in April and is now closing in on its 52-week highs as earnings approach. An earnings beat could send the stock higher as the outlook already looks promising enough for the restaurant chain.

Overall, MCD ranks 25th on our list of best and worst Dow stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of MCD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MCD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.