Rating Action:
Moody's affirms McDonald's Baa1 senior unsecured and P-2 commercial paper ratings
21 Sep 2018
New York, September 21, 2018 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") today affirmed McDonald's Corporation's ("McDonald's") Baa1 senior unsecured rating and P-2 short term commercial paper rating. The ratings outlook is stable.
"The ratings affirmation reflects our view that McDonald's credit profile will remain within the range appropriate for its Baa1 senior unsecured and Prime-2 ratings despite the increase in its dividend and the additional debt required to fund its shareholder return target" stated Bill Fahy, Moody's Senior Credit Officer. McDonald's recently announced that it will raise its dividend by approximately 15% and will increase its shareholder return target to about $25 billion from $24 billion. "Overall, McDonald's is supported by its brand strength, global scale, geographic reach and unique business model that generates strong and steady cash flows which offset certain quantitative credit metrics that are weak for the rating.' stated Fahy.