McDonald's (MCD) PT Raised to $230 at Credit Suisse as Management Accelerates Investments to Drive Growth

Credit Suisse analyst Lauren Silberman raised the price target on McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) to $230.00 (from $214.00) after the company reported 3Q EPS of $2.22. The company had pre-released 3Q SSS, for the US of 4.6% and noted that October SSS are trending up MSD in the US & down LSD in IOM. MCD guided to MSD system sales growth for FY21 & FY22, operating margin in the low-to-mid 40% range, G&A ~2.3% of system sales, CapEx ~$2.3BN & FCF conversion >90%.

The analyst reiterated an Outperform rating, stating "The overarching theme of the Investor Update was accelerated investments to drive growth,likely leading to sustainably higher G&A & CapEx above prior expectations." "MCD branded the new growth strategy as Accelerating the Arches, with growth to be focused on the brand by maximizing marketing investments (M), food by committing to the core (C) & experience by focusing on the 3D’s, incl. digital, delivery & drive-thru (D). We believe MCD is well positioned to gain share globally given brand strength, operational execution, value leadership & a healthy franchisee base, with better leveraging of its tech infrastructure to expand the competitive moat".

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