McDonalds (MCD)

Have had trouble over the last few years. People are concerned about management. Part of their problem now is the menu. People globally are changing their habits, and companies have got to adapt quickly.

This one has had some struggles. A new CEO coming is in. It has a 3.4% dividend. It is the largest real estate holder in the world, which few people realize.

Long on McDonald’s (MCD-N) and Short on Restaurant Brands (QSR-T). Good strategy? He could see intuitively how it could do well, but he would advise against it. This company has a lot of headwinds. It is not seen as a health conscious menu and a place where people go to eat healthy. Restaurant Brands have Tim Hortons which has a lot of growth potential and a lot of potential for cost-cutting.

Just removed the CEO. Company had been struggling, partially because their menus got too complicated. They are trying to rebrand their menus and make them simpler. Rock solid balance sheet. He thinks they are going to solve their problems. Has a 30 year track record of increasing dividends. Yield of 3.8%.

An amazing business and the Return on Capital and Return on Equity is terrific. Trading at a 15-16 times multiple. The negative is that there is no sense of urgency with management to change. Competition has increased immensely. Until he gets an indication that the earnings are going to grow, it is hard for him to buy the stock.

Had a real challenge the last couple of years. A lot of better brands have caught up. Declining same store sales on a monthly basis. There needs to be a re-think about what management is going to do going forward.

Sell McDonalds (MCD-N) to buy Apple (AAPL-Q)? McDonald’s is treated almost like a staple-like company, fairly solid and predictable growth. The only issue is from a growth point of view. It is a good franchise. If you hold it, it will continue to move forward quite nicely.

Raised its dividend 25 years straight. Have always been about to reinvent themselves. The idea of a better, healthier, nutritional, organic locally sourced type of environment is really challenging right now. The dividend yield is the parachute that keeps him in this stock. He just heard that there might be an activist investor coming along to get this moving. Don’t give up on it.

Such a global company and the strength of the US dollar is an impact in terms of a headwind. It is certainly not going to be a growth story. There are probably better names in the space.

Continues to lose market share and also same store sales are down. Until they can turn this around he is leary of buying them. They are perceived to be selling less healthy food. Owns nothing in this sector.

He thinks there is something structural going on in this business. All of us are looking more at just what we eat and are more dietary conscious. This company was a great innovator with new menu items, and this is what will drive same store sales. They have been struggling. You’ll see 5%-8% growth, but he just doesn't see much in the way of upside.

This company has been having some problems in the US in terms of traffic growth. They also have exposure in Europe which has been hurting. Asia-Pacific and the Middle East collectively represents about 18%-20% of their earnings. Prefers Yum Brands (YUM-N) which has about 35% of their earnings from China.

This kind of reflects his view of where the markets are. The volatility is there. People will continue to eat here, through thick and thin. A couple of things that have put short-term pressure on them are the tainted meat scare in China and the Russian geopolitical issues. Over the long-term, those have not proven to be factors in the share price. The lower current price is a positive. This is really a defensive name. Have been in a huge rebranding kick.

Has been a huge fan, but now thinks you should probably sell it. It is not expensive, but it is out of favour. He does not see the stock doing that well.

There is no sense of urgency for the management to right the ship. The earnings have not gone anywhere in years and are manufactured because of share buybacks. If an activist came in and cuts costs and did more franchising there could be a material upside, and then they have to work on the menu.