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Side-by-side financial comparison of McDonald's (MCD) and Xcel Energy (XEL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

McDonald's is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($7.0B vs $4.0B, roughly 1.7× Xcel Energy). McDonald's runs the higher net margin — 30.9% vs 13.8%, a 17.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, McDonald's posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (9.7% vs 2.9%). Over the past eight quarters, Xcel Energy's revenue compounded faster (15.2% CAGR vs 6.6%).

McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food restaurant chain. As of 2024, it is the second-largest by number of locations in the world, behind the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea.

Xcel Energy Inc. is a U.S. regulated electric utility and natural gas delivery company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving approximately 3.9 million electricity customers and 2.2 million natural gas customers across parts of eight states as of mid-2025. It consists of four operating subsidiaries: Northern States Power-Minnesota, Northern States Power-Wisconsin, Public Service Company of Colorado, and Southwestern Public Service Co.

MCD vs XEL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MCD
MCD
1.7× larger
MCD
$7.0B
$4.0B
XEL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
MCD
MCD
+6.8% gap
MCD
9.7%
2.9%
XEL
Higher net margin
MCD
MCD
17.1% more per $
MCD
30.9%
13.8%
XEL
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
XEL
XEL
Annualised
XEL
15.2%
6.6%
MCD

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Revenue
$7.0B
$4.0B
Net Profit
$2.2B
$556.0M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
45.0%
18.8%
Net Margin
30.9%
13.8%
Revenue YoY
9.7%
2.9%
Net Profit YoY
7.3%
EPS (diluted)
$3.03

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
$4.0B
Q4 25
$7.0B
$3.6B
Q3 25
$7.1B
$3.9B
Q2 25
$6.8B
$3.3B
Q1 25
$6.0B
$3.9B
Q4 24
$6.4B
$3.1B
Q3 24
$6.9B
$3.6B
Q2 24
$6.5B
$3.0B
Net Profit
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
$556.0M
Q4 25
$2.2B
$567.0M
Q3 25
$2.3B
$524.0M
Q2 25
$2.3B
$444.0M
Q1 25
$1.9B
$483.0M
Q4 24
$2.0B
$464.0M
Q3 24
$2.3B
$682.0M
Q2 24
$2.0B
$302.0M
Gross Margin
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
Q3 25
90.6%
Q2 25
90.4%
Q1 25
89.6%
Q4 24
Q3 24
90.6%
Q2 24
90.3%
Operating Margin
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
18.8%
Q4 25
45.0%
16.3%
Q3 25
47.4%
19.1%
Q2 25
47.2%
17.6%
Q1 25
44.5%
17.3%
Q4 24
44.9%
11.1%
Q3 24
46.4%
25.0%
Q2 24
45.0%
14.8%
Net Margin
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
13.8%
Q4 25
30.9%
15.9%
Q3 25
32.2%
13.4%
Q2 25
32.9%
13.5%
Q1 25
31.4%
12.4%
Q4 24
31.6%
14.9%
Q3 24
32.8%
18.7%
Q2 24
31.2%
10.0%
EPS (diluted)
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$3.03
$0.95
Q3 25
$3.18
$0.88
Q2 25
$3.14
$0.75
Q1 25
$2.60
$0.84
Q4 24
$2.80
$0.81
Q3 24
$3.13
$1.21
Q2 24
$2.80
$0.54

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$774.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$40.0B
$35.6M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$-1.8B
Total Assets
$59.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$774.0M
Q3 25
$2.4B
$1.1B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$1.5B
Q1 25
$1.2B
$1.1B
Q4 24
$1.1B
$179.0M
Q3 24
$1.2B
$1.5B
Q2 24
$792.0M
$1.6B
Total Debt
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
$35.6M
Q4 25
$40.0B
$31.8B
Q3 25
$32.0B
Q2 25
$31.1B
Q1 25
$29.4B
Q4 24
$38.4B
$27.3B
Q3 24
$27.5B
Q2 24
$27.7B
Stockholders' Equity
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-1.8B
$23.6B
Q3 25
$-2.2B
$21.2B
Q2 25
$-2.8B
$21.0B
Q1 25
$-3.5B
$19.8B
Q4 24
$-3.8B
$19.5B
Q3 24
$-5.2B
$19.4B
Q2 24
$-4.8B
$18.0B
Total Assets
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$59.5B
$81.4B
Q3 25
$60.6B
$79.2B
Q2 25
$59.6B
$75.3B
Q1 25
$56.3B
$72.7B
Q4 24
$55.2B
$70.0B
Q3 24
$56.2B
$69.3B
Q2 24
$53.8B
$67.9B
Debt / Equity
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.35×
Q3 25
1.51×
Q2 25
1.48×
Q1 25
1.48×
Q4 24
1.40×
Q3 24
1.42×
Q2 24
1.54×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$2.7B
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$1.6B
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
23.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
15.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.25×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$7.2B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$2.7B
$209.0M
Q3 25
$3.4B
$1.8B
Q2 25
$2.0B
$1.1B
Q1 25
$2.4B
$1.0B
Q4 24
$2.6B
$664.0M
Q3 24
$2.7B
$1.7B
Q2 24
$1.7B
$1.2B
Free Cash Flow
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.6B
$-3.2B
Q3 25
$2.4B
$-1.3B
Q2 25
$1.3B
$-1.3B
Q1 25
$1.9B
$-960.0M
Q4 24
$1.8B
$-1.6B
Q3 24
$1.9B
$-42.0M
Q2 24
$1.1B
$-641.0M
FCF Margin
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
23.4%
-90.7%
Q3 25
34.1%
-33.0%
Q2 25
18.3%
-40.9%
Q1 25
31.5%
-24.6%
Q4 24
28.6%
-49.8%
Q3 24
28.3%
-1.2%
Q2 24
16.3%
-21.2%
Capex Intensity
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
15.1%
96.5%
Q3 25
14.3%
78.0%
Q2 25
10.9%
73.8%
Q1 25
9.3%
50.9%
Q4 24
12.6%
71.1%
Q3 24
11.6%
48.8%
Q2 24
9.7%
60.5%
Cash Conversion
MCD
MCD
XEL
XEL
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.25×
0.37×
Q3 25
1.50×
3.37×
Q2 25
0.89×
2.43×
Q1 25
1.30×
2.13×
Q4 24
1.30×
1.43×
Q3 24
1.21×
2.55×
Q2 24
0.84×
3.94×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

MCD
MCD

International Operated Markets$3.6B51%
Other$2.8B40%
International Developmental Licensed Marketsand Corporate$633.0M9%

XEL
XEL

Electric$3.0B74%
Natural gas$1.0B26%

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