Lowe's Companies Inc (LOW) vs McDonald’s Corporation (MCD)

A side-by-side look at how these two compare on valuation, profitability and shareholder returns.

Lowe's Companies vs McDonald’s at a glance

Both companies operate in the Consumer Discretionary sector, so these figures are broadly like-for-like.

MetricLOWMCD
Market cap$116.51B$189.21B
Price$208.05$265.00
P/E ratio (TTM)22.6425.36
P/B ratio (MRQ)00
P/S ratio (TTM)1.758.08
Revenue growth (1Y)3.12%3.72%
Return on equity (TTM)-67.10%-478.38%
Return on invested capital (TTM)21.77%25.05%
Gross margin (TTM)34.08%57.35%
Net margin (TTM)7.34%31.62%
Dividend yield (TTM)2.40%2.81%

How they differ

McDonald’s is the larger company at $189.21B versus $116.51B — about 1.6x the size.

On trailing earnings, Lowe's Companies is the cheaper of the two at 22.64 against 25.36 for McDonald’s.

On sales, Lowe's Companies is the cheaper of the two at 1.75 against 8.08 for McDonald’s.

McDonald’s leads on revenue growth over the past year, 3.72% against 3.12%.

McDonald’s leads on return on invested capital, 25.05% against 21.77%.

McDonald’s leads on gross margin, 57.35% against 34.08%.

McDonald’s offers the higher yield at 2.81% against 2.40%.

Go deeper

Ratios describe the past. Whether either is worth owning depends on what you pay today.

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