McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) has announced that its next quarterly dividend is scheduled for payment on December 15, 2025.
Investors on record as of December 1 will receive a cash payout of $1.86 per share, outmatching the past quarter’s $1.77 paid on September 16 by 5.1%.
The fast food chain currently offers a dividend yield of 2.42%, compared to the consumer discretionary sector’s average of 1.89%. Moreover, the company’s payout ratio stands at 56.26%.
Investors will thus receive $186 for every 100 KO shares next month, amounting to $717 this year when combined with the previous three quarters, when investors received $177 per 100 shares.
McDonald’s stock performance
With a track record of dividend increases spanning no less than 50 years, McDonald’s remains a popular passive income pick. Yet, the market has been somewhat divided in recent months due to suspicious insider activity.
Overall, the executives have sold a combined 15,134 shares, worth roughly $4.57 million, in roughly the past three months, with EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert alone offloading 13,134 shares on November 5.
As a result, MCD shares were trading $305.07 at the time of writing, Monday, November 17, still down 3.38% on the six-month chart.
Furthermore, McDonald’s reported Q3 results, reported on November 5, were mixed. Indeed, revenue rose 3% to $7.08 billion, but still lagged behind the $7.09–$7.10 billion consensus. At the same time, earnings per share (EPS) landed at just $3.22 versus the projected $3.33.
Still, the underlying performance remained firm. For instance, operating profit increased 5% to $3.36 billion, and margins widened by 100 basis points to 47.4%.
Management expects macroeconomic pressures to persist into 2026 and appears to lean heavily on value-focused campaigns to defend its margins.
More interestingly, the chain has become the center stage for a new crypto-related meme fest. Namely, McDonald’s is experiencing a record spike in job applications, coinciding with a sharp downturn in the cryptocurrency market.
The announcement, posted on X by the world’s largest crypto-based prediction website, Polymarket, quickly went viral, prompting a number of leading figures in the industry to post satirical comments on the risks involved with crypto investments.
Featured image via Shutterstock
