WEN vs. MCD

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about The Wendy's Company (WEN) and McDonald's Corporation (MCD).

Performance

WEN vs. MCD - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in The Wendy's Company (WEN) and McDonald's Corporation (MCD). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

WEN vs. MCD - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
WEN The Wendy's Company	-15.01%	-45.81%	-11.45%	-9.65%	-2.77%	10.98%	0.07%	45.34%	-3.02%	23.78%
MCD McDonald's Corporation	2.26%	7.89%	0.14%	15.06%	0.51%	27.79%	11.30%	13.97%	5.78%	45.05%

Fundamentals

Market Cap WEN : $1.32B MCD : $221.97B
EPS WEN : $0.86 MCD : $11.96
PE Ratio WEN : 8.08 MCD : 25.98
PS Ratio WEN : 0.61 MCD : 8.28
Total Revenue (TTM) WEN : $2.18B MCD : $26.89B
Gross Profit (TTM) WEN : $591.36M MCD : $15.31B
EBITDA (TTM) WEN : $487.61M MCD : $14.22B

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, WEN achieves a -15.01% return, which is significantly lower than MCD's 2.26% return. Over the past 10 years, WEN has underperformed MCD with an annualized return of -1.40%, while MCD has yielded a comparatively higher 12.03% annualized return.

WEN

• 1D: 2.51%
• 1M: -7.58%
• YTD: -15.01%
• 6M: -21.41%
• 1Y: -49.52%
• 3Y*: -27.66%
• 5Y*: -15.99%
• 10Y*: -1.40%

MCD

• 1D: 0.73%
• 1M: -8.37%
• YTD: 2.26%
• 6M: 3.46%
• 1Y: 1.80%
• 3Y*: 6.00%
• 5Y*: 9.10%
• 10Y*: 12.03%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

Return for Risk

WEN vs. MCD — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

WEN

WEN Risk / Return Rank: 5
WEN Sharpe Ratio Rank: 1
WEN Sortino Ratio Rank: 2
WEN Omega Ratio Rank: 4
WEN Calmar Ratio Rank: 4
WEN Martin Ratio Rank: 12

MCD

MCD Risk / Return Rank: 44
MCD Sharpe Ratio Rank: 46
MCD Sortino Ratio Rank: 37
MCD Omega Ratio Rank: 37
MCD Calmar Ratio Rank: 51
MCD Martin Ratio Rank: 52

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

WEN vs. MCD - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for The Wendy's Company (WEN) and McDonald's Corporation (MCD). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	WEN	MCD	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	-1.24	0.10	-1.35
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	-2.18	0.27	-2.45
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	0.77	1.03	-0.27
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	-0.97	0.33	-1.30
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	-1.44	0.79	-2.22
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

WEN vs. MCD - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current WEN Sharpe Ratio is -1.24, which is lower than the MCD Sharpe Ratio of 0.10. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of WEN and MCD, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	WEN	MCD	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	-1.24	0.10	-1.35
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	-0.51	0.54	-1.04
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	-0.04	0.59	-0.63
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.05	0.54	-0.49

Correlation

The correlation between WEN and MCD is 0.27, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

WEN vs. MCD - Dividend Comparison

WEN's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 8.06%, more than MCD's 2.34% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
WEN The Wendy's Company	8.06%	8.04%	6.13%	5.13%	2.21%	1.80%	1.32%	1.89%	2.18%	1.71%	1.81%	2.09%
MCD McDonald's Corporation	2.34%	2.35%	2.34%	2.10%	2.15%	1.96%	2.35%	2.39%	2.36%	2.23%	2.97%	2.91%

Drawdowns

WEN vs. MCD - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum WEN drawdown since its inception was -86.71%, which is greater than MCD's maximum drawdown of -73.20%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for WEN and MCD.

Drawdown Indicators

	WEN	MCD	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-86.71%	-73.20%	-13.51%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-51.05%	-10.60%	-40.45%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-70.81%	-17.23%	-53.58%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-70.81%	-36.90%	-33.91%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-70.08%	-8.37%	-61.71%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-40.50%	-14.90%	-25.60%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	34.48%	4.52%	+29.96%

Volatility

WEN vs. MCD - Volatility Comparison

The Wendy's Company (WEN) has a higher volatility of 9.26% compared to McDonald's Corporation (MCD) at 4.79%. This indicates that WEN's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than MCD based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	WEN	MCD	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	9.26%	4.79%	+4.47%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	30.90%	11.76%	+19.14%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	39.97%	17.27%	+22.70%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	31.68%	17.06%	+14.62%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	36.59%	20.32%	+16.27%

Financials

WEN vs. MCD - Profitability Comparison

The chart below illustrates the profitability comparison between The Wendy's Company and McDonald's Corporation over time, highlighting three key metrics: Gross Profit Margin, Operating Margin, and Net Profit Margin.

WEN - Gross Margin

Gross margin is calculated as gross profit divided by revenue. For the three months ending on Apr 2026, The Wendy's Company reported a gross profit of 131.45M and revenue of 542.97M. Therefore, the gross margin over that period was 24.2%.

MCD - Gross Margin

Gross margin is calculated as gross profit divided by revenue. For the three months ending on Apr 2026, McDonald's Corporation reported a gross profit of 3.91B and revenue of 7.01B. Therefore, the gross margin over that period was 55.8%.

WEN - Operating Margin

Operating margin is calculated as operating income divided by revenue. For the three months ending on Apr 2026, The Wendy's Company reported an operating income of 64.37M and revenue of 542.97M, resulting in an operating margin of 11.9%.

MCD - Operating Margin

Operating margin is calculated as operating income divided by revenue. For the three months ending on Apr 2026, McDonald's Corporation reported an operating income of 3.16B and revenue of 7.01B, resulting in an operating margin of 45.1%.

WEN - Net Margin

Net margin is calculated as net income divided by revenue. For the three months ending on Apr 2026, The Wendy's Company reported a net income of 26.48M and revenue of 542.97M, resulting in a net margin of 4.9%.

MCD - Net Margin

Net margin is calculated as net income divided by revenue. For the three months ending on Apr 2026, McDonald's Corporation reported a net income of 2.16B and revenue of 7.01B, resulting in a net margin of 30.9%.