McDonald’s Jumps as Goldman Says Chain Could Take Market Share

(Bloomberg) -- McDonald’s Corp. jumped, posting one of the top performances on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after Goldman Sachs said the fast-food chain is better poised than some peers to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

The company’s shares rose as much as 8.1% to $161.54 on Friday, climbing for a second day. The gain pared the stock’s month-to-date decline to less than 20%.

Goldman Sachs analyst Katherine Fogertey said McDonald’s, along with Domino’s Pizza Inc., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and Wingstop Inc., could pick up market share once health restrictions ease.

“We see a very strong potential for the digital and delivery enabled brands in particular to perform well coming out of the pressures,” Fogertey said in a note to clients. Goldman has a buy recommendation on the stock.

McDonald’s has invested heavily in recent years to improve its technology in areas such as mobile ordering, kiosks in restaurants and new digital drive thru menus that predict customers’ preference based on location, time of day, and other factors.

Restaurants are seeing nosediving demand as authorities across the U.S. issue orders for establishments to close down or move to delivery and carryout only as coronavirus spreads. Investors have responded with a broad selloff of the industry’s stock, with the Russell 2000 Restaurants Index down almost 50% this month.

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