McDonald's (MCD) ended the recent trading session at $293.99, demonstrating a +0.93% swing from the preceding day's closing price. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.1%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.91%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.35%.

The the stock of world's biggest hamburger chain has fallen by 1.65% in the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 3.08% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.22%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of McDonald's in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.86, down 3.05% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.52 billion, up 1.84% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $11.75 per share and revenue of $26.04 billion. These totals would mark changes of -1.59% and +2.16%, respectively, from last year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for McDonald's. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.13% lower. Currently, McDonald's is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, McDonald's currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.79. This represents no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 24.79.

We can also see that MCD currently has a PEG ratio of 3.88. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Retail - Restaurants industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.29 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 134, positioning it in the bottom 47% of all 250+ industries.