Is HARD or MCD a better dividend investment in 2026?

HARD currently yields 4.00% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. MCD yields 2.35% with 8.5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: HARD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between HARD and MCD?

HARD has a forward dividend yield of 4.00% ($2.00/share annually). MCD yields 2.35% ($7.26/share annually). The yield gap is 1.65 percentage points.

Home › Compare › HARD vs MCD

HARD vs MCD: Dividend Comparison 2026

HARD yields 4.00% · MCD yields 2.35%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 MCD wins by $50.5K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 5

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

HARD

● Live price

4.00%

Share price

$50.00

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$28.0K

Annual income

$899.19

Full HARD calculator →

MCD

McDonald's Corporation

● Live price

2.35%

Share price

$308.53

Annual div

$7.26

5Y div CAGR

42.3%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$78.5K

Annual income

$26,227.70

Full MCD calculator →

Portfolio growth — HARD vs MCD

📍 MCD pulled ahead of the other in Year 5

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	HARD	MCD
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, HARD + MCD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

HARD pays

MCD pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

HARD

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$340.00/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$764.31/yr

MCD

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$200.01/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$22,293.55/yr

At 15% tax rate, MCD beats the other by $21,529.23/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of HARD + MCD for your $10,000?

HARD: 50%MCD: 50%

100% MCD50/50100% HARD

Portfolio after 10yr

$53.3K

Annual income

$13,563.45/yr

Blended yield

25.45%

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Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MCD right now

HARD

No analyst data

MCD

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Buy

Price Target

$351.76

+14.0% upside vs current

Range: $320.00 — $385.00

Altman Z

4.9

Piotroski

5/9

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

HARD buys

MCD buys

No recent congressional trades found for HARD or MCD in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricHARDMCD

Forward yield	4.00% ✓	2.35%
Annual dividend / share	$2.00	$7.26 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	5% ✓	0%
5-year div CAGR	5%	42.3% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$28.0K	$78.5K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$899.19	$26,227.70 ✓
Total dividends collected	$6.4K	$58.5K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	Consumer Discretionary

Year-by-year: HARD vs MCD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	HARD Portfolio	HARD Income/yr	MCD Portfolio	MCD Income/yr	Gap
1	$11,120	$420.00	$10,815	$334.85	+$305.00 → HARD
2	$12,357	$458.31	$11,826	$491.71	+$531.00 → HARD
3	$13,721	$499.76	$13,123	$730.06	+$598.00 → HARD
4	$15,227	$544.58	$14,853	$1,100.07	+$374.00 → HARD
5← crossover	$16,885	$593.02	$17,257	$1,690.61	$372.00 → MCD
6	$18,713	$645.34	$20,752	$2,667.01	$2.0K → MCD
7	$20,724	$701.81	$26,103	$4,354.83	$5.4K → MCD
8	$22,938	$762.73	$34,794	$7,437.78	$11.9K → MCD
9	$25,372	$828.41	$49,926	$13,461.60	$24.6K → MCD
10	$28,047	$899.19	$78,550	$26,227.70	$50.5K → MCD

HARD vs MCD: Complete Analysis 2026

HARD — Stock

HARD is a dividend-paying stock. Use this calculator to estimate your future dividend income, DRIP compounding returns, and passive income potential from investing in HARD shares.

Full HARD Calculator →

MCD — Consumer Discretionary

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises McDonald's restaurants in the United States and internationally. Its restaurants offer hamburgers and cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches and nuggets, wraps, fries, salads, oatmeal, shakes, desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, bakery items, soft drinks, coffee, and beverages and other beverages, as well as breakfast menu, including biscuit and bagel sandwiches, breakfast burritos, hotcakes, and other sandwiches. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 40,031 restaurants. McDonald's Corporation was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Full MCD Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.