Morgan Stanley Warns Investors to Avoid McDonald's Corporation (MCD) Amid Growing Challenges

McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) is one of the best Dow stocks to invest in.  Morgan Stanley suggested that the company may soon start feeling some of the broader challenges affecting the fast food industry. On June 9, the firm downgraded the stock from “Overweight” to “Equal Weight” and lowered its price target from $329 to $324 per share, indicating a potential upside of about 5% from last Friday’s closing price.

Analyst Brian Harbour made the following comment:

“MCD is a top quality business but hasn’t been, and probably will not be, insulated from some structural pressures on fast food.”

He further said:

“YTD, the stock is up 6% and has behaved defensively, 5% off all time highs despite fundamental headwinds for over a year. Simply, we see more balanced risk/reward skew today, weighing MCD’s leadership position in the [quick service restaurant] segment against what we think are some structural headwinds that could continue.”

The analyst pointed to economic uncertainty affecting lower-income consumers and changing preferences toward health and wellness as key challenges. While McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) has outperformed its competitors so far, the firm noted that its momentum may begin to taper off.

MCD is up by nearly 3% since the start of 2025.

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