Warren Buffett lamented selling Berkshire Hathaway’s shares of McDonald’s in his 1998 letter to shareholders, calling it “a very big mistake.” Yet, in spite of starting nearly every day with a breakfast sandwich from the fast-food leader, the Oracle of Omaha didn’t reinvest in McDonald’s.

In a shareholder meeting posted on YouTube, he compared McDonald’s to companies like Coca-Cola and Gillette. The latter two benefit from brand loyalty that helps drive their growth.

McDonald’s, on the other hand, does not hold as much of a loyalty factor, Buffett said. “People want to vary where they eat,” he said. “They don’t really have any great desire to vary their soft drink the same way.”

Additionally, he said, “It’s price-sensitive. You can spend a lot more money on hamburgers in the course of a year than razor blades.”

Even so, if you invested in McDonald’s stock at the beginning of 2025, you’d be ahead right now in early 2026.

At the closing bell on Jan. 2, 2025, McDonald’s stock sold for $292.51 per share. If you bought $1,000 worth, you’d have roughly 3.42 shares. McDonald’s paid out dividends of $1.77 on March 3 and June 2 and Sept. 2, and a dividend of $1.86 on Dec. 1, 2025. Let’s assume you reinvested those dividends.

By Dec. 26, 2025, you’d have 3.5 shares worth $1,089 based on the closing price of $310.68. You’d have made $89, or a return of 8.9%.

That’s more than a high-yield savings account, but not as much if you invested in high-growth tech stocks like those that make up the Nasdaq 100 index, which delivered average returns of 22.05% in 2025.

During the same time period, the S&P 500 experienced total returns (including reinvested dividends) of 19.32%, according to SlickCharts.com. If you look at average overall returns over the long term, however, McDonald’s isn’t far off; over the past 150 years, the S&P 500 has delivered average annual returns of 9.46%.

Check Out: Self-Made Millionaires Suggest 5 Stocks You Should Never Sell

Read Next: How Middle-Class Earners Are Quietly Becoming Millionaires — and How You Can, Too

Although McDonald’s still holds the title of most profitable fast food chain, according to Toast, and top quick-service chain, according to QSR, the iconic American chain has faced struggles in recent years.

A variety of headwinds, including inflation, trends toward healthier eating and higher prices for beef hurt McDonald’s revenue in both 2024 and 2025. McDonald’s stock fell behind Yum! Brands, (owner of KFC and Taco Bell), which posted 2025 gains of around 15%.

View Comments