New York, Feb 13, 2026, 17:02 EST — After-hours
- McDonald’s dropped about 1.4% to $327.58 late in the day, after trading as low as $326.57 and reaching $335.51 earlier in the session.
- CEO Chris Kempczinski unloaded 26,277 shares, according to a securities filing. The sale followed a pre-arranged trading plan.
- McDonald’s draws attention as quarterly results loom, investors reacting to an analyst upgrade tied to the company’s value push.
Shares of McDonald’s Corp fell 1.4% to $327.58 in after-hours trading Friday. Earlier in the day, the stock traded from $326.57 up to $335.51. Volume was about 3.6 million shares.
The decline revives a familiar dilemma for fast-food chains: does leaning on discounts still pull in customers without eroding profits. McDonald’s has thrown its weight behind value bundles again, and now investors are left to speculate about what that means for 2026.
The stock is widely seen as a refuge during shaky periods for consumer spending. When budgets shrink, big names like McDonald’s are frequently among the first to notice a dip in traffic from lower-income customers.
Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski planned to sell 26,277 shares, valued at around $8.49 million at current prices, a Form 144 filed on Feb. 12 shows. The filing notes these shares stemmed from an option exercise and points to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan—an arrangement insiders use to schedule stock sales in advance.
Argus lifted McDonald’s to a “buy” from “hold,” slapping a $380 price target on the shares, Investing.com reported. The analysts cited value menu offerings, heavy promotion, and bigger digital and brand investments as key drivers. Investing.com
McDonald’s posted a 5.7% gain in global comparable sales for the fourth quarter this week, as U.S. same-store sales climbed 6.8%. Quarterly revenue totaled $7.01 billion. Diluted EPS came in at $3.03, or $3.12 on an adjusted basis, after stripping out certain charges. The dividend gets a 5% lift to $1.86 a share.
Wall Street had penciled in 3.7% global comparable sales growth for the quarter, according to LSEG figures cited elsewhere. On the earnings call, CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts, “We don’t subsidize pricing on a permanent basis,” and made it clear that support for franchisees’ “extra value” deals is tapering off. Jim Sanderson at Northcoast Research didn’t mince words: McDonald’s “has to continue to grind away with marketing and value promotions” to keep customer counts up. Looking forward, management is set on opening about 2,600 new restaurants globally in 2026, with operating margins expected somewhere in the mid-to-high 40% range. Reuters
Some rivals managed stronger results. Wendy’s, however, saw U.S. same-restaurant sales drop sharply in the fourth quarter, and its projection for 2026 earnings came in well below analyst expectations, MarketWatch reported.
The risks are clear enough. If customers turn away from deals or rivals cut prices, McDonald’s could watch traffic thin out—while ingredient and labor costs stick stubbornly. That defensive premium investors pay? It’s quick to vanish, either with changing rates or when the taste for safety fades.
McDonald’s set March 17 as the date for its $1.86 per share quarterly dividend, with the payout scheduled for investors of record on March 3.
