Here's How Many Shares of McDonald's You'd Need for $2,000 in Yearly Dividends

The Motley Fool · Jack Delaney · 2026-11-06 10:47 UTC

It may be worth waiting for McDonald's to show improvement in its U.S. store sales before buying the stock.

McDonald's (MCD -0.78%) is fresh off reporting its 2026 third-quarter results. While it was a mixed bag, the stock price climbed over 5% by the afternoon of the report, suggesting the markets were somewhat pleased.

The company reported a 0.2% decrease in sales at its U.S. locations open for at least 13 months and missed CNBC-tracked analyst estimates of $7.2 billion in revenue, reporting $7.1 billion. McDonald's did, however, beat earnings per share (EPS) estimates of $3.38, reporting EPS of $3.57. It also reported net income of $2.4 billion, an increase from $2.2 billion in the prior-year period.

For any investor who likes the results and sees McDonald's as an investment candidate, or for a current shareholder thinking about picking up more shares, a bonus of owning the stock is that it pays a dividend. It yields a respectable 2.7%, so we can run through a hypothetical example of how many shares it would take to generate $2,000 a year in dividend payouts.

Read the full story at The Motley Fool · All coverage of this story