BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MCD
McDonald's Corporation
MCD has a slight edge over BABA overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
BABA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
BABA's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
MCD Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Stable |
MCD's profitability and cash flow are currently strong, and its revenue and balance sheet are stable.
BABA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $69.66 | -26% |
| Fair | 20x | $86.59 | -8.2% |
| Current | 21x | $94.36 | — |
| Expensive | 26x | $115 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BABA's PE is 21x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
MCD PE Valuation
MCD has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
BABA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
BABA has the edge over MCD on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
MCD Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect MCD's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
BABA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | -52% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.57 | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.79 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.85 | +49% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.27 | +116% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.06 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.47 | +24% |
| Q3 2024 | $5.26 | -35% |
MCD has the stronger earnings trend. Trailing diluted EPS is down 52% for BABA versus MCD up 0.4%.
MCD Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.34 | +17% |
| Q3 2024 | $11.38 | +0.4% |
| Q2 2024 | $11.42 | +5.3% |
| Q1 2024 | $11.77 | +27% |
| Q4 2023 | $11.56 | +39% |
| Q3 2023 | $11.34 | +43% |
| Q2 2023 | $10.85 | +34% |
| Q1 2023 | $9.30 | -1.8% |
| Q4 2022 | $8.33 | -17% |
MCD earned $11.38 per share over the past year, about the same as the year before.
BABA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $40.2B | +8.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $36.5B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $42.7B | +1.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $37.2B | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.2B | +1.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.5B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $42B | +7.6% |
| Q3 2024 | $35.5B | +5.2% |
BABA has the edge over MCD on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7.2% | -6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -7.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2% | -13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +5.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | 0 points |
BABA's operating margin was 7.2% last quarter, down 6.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MCD Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $7.2B | +1.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.1B | +3.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.5B | +9.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $7B | +9.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.1B | +3% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.8B | +5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $6B | -3.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.4B | -0.3% |
MCD's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $7.2B last quarter, up 1.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 50% | +2.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 47% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 45% | +0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 45% | +0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 47% | +1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 47% | +2.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 44% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 45% | +1.2 points |
MCD has the edge over BABA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BABA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$6.7B | -$4.1B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.7B | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | -90% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.2B | -254% |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.7B | -182% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.2B | -12231% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.1B | -62% |
BABA's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$11.6B over the past year.
MCD Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.1B | -11% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | +58% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.7B | -7.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6B | -10% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.4B | +24% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.3B | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9B | +1.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.8B | +5.3% |
MCD has the edge over BABA on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
BABA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +11.1M shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +21.4M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -161M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -339M shares |
| Available history | -8.4% | -221M shares |
BABA has 2.4B diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $269.8M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
BABA spent $270M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none the year before.
MCD Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -2.7M shares |
| 1 year | -1.1% | -7.9M shares |
| 3 years | -2.5% | -18.4M shares |
MCD has the edge over BABA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $519M |
| Q2 2026 | $856M |
| Q1 2026 | $396M |
| Q4 2025 | $573M |
| Q3 2025 | $501M |
| Q2 2025 | $505M |
| Q1 2025 | $477M |
| Q4 2024 | $503M |
BABA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
BABA has the edge over MCD on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MCD Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 3.2x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 3.2x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.1x | Elevated |
MCD's net debt is about 2.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 3.1 years a year ago.
BABA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.7 | Oversold |
BABA's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
MCD Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 76.5 | Neutral |
MCD's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 77 (neutral).
BABA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BABA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 18x | 19% above |
| PE % | 60 | 47 | 13 pts above |
BABA is trading at 21x earnings, a 19% premium to the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x, though its earnings don't support one.
MCD PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | MCD | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 18x | — |
MCD has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
BABA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $104.7 | 9.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $111.1 | 15% below |
| 50 week MA | $128.0 | 26% below |
| 100 week MA | $127.7 | 26% below |
| 200 week MA | $106.4 | 11% below |
BABA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 200-week average.
MCD Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $250.4 | 9.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $260.1 | 5.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $286.6 | 4.5% below |
| 100 week MA | $295.0 | 7.2% below |
| 200 week MA | $287.9 | 5% below |
MCD has the edge over BABA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BABA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $215.5 | $222.0 | +3% |
| 2021 | $222.0 | $118.7 | -47% |
| 2022 | $118.7 | $85.7 | -28% |
| 2023 | $85.7 | $77.5 | -9.5% |
| 2024 | $77.5 | $85.1 | +9.7% |
| 2025 | $85.1 | $152.2 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $152.2 | $94.4 | -38% |
BABA has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 38% so far in 2026.
MCD Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $198.2 | $211.4 | +6.7% |
| 2021 | $211.4 | $266.0 | +26% |
| 2022 | $266.0 | $267.6 | +0.6% |
| 2023 | $267.6 | $296.5 | +11% |
| 2024 | $296.5 | $293.6 | -1% |
| 2025 | $293.6 | $310.7 | +5.8% |
| 2026 YTD | $310.7 | $273.6 | -12% |
MCD has the edge over BABA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.