5 Stocks You Can Trust… And 20 You Can’t

Stock #3: McDonalds (MCD)

McDonald’s (MCD) is the world’s top fast-food company by sales, with more than
31,800 flagship restaurants serving burgers and fries in more than 100 countries.

The company reported strong first-quarter earnings on April 22, further fueling Mickey D’s current and continued success. Much
to Wall Street’s surprise, for the first three months of 2008, MCD earned 81 cents per share. That’s a big jump over the 62 cents
per share it made last year and significantly higher than Wall Street’s 70 cent expectation.

The reasons behind this fast-food pioneer’s first-quarter success: A weak dollar and strong global sales. In fact, the company’s
U.S. business has flat-lined, but abroad MCD, among other multi-nationals, is profiting from the weak dollar.

Although MCD isn’t unaffected by the slowing U.S. economy, this fast food giant’s global momentum is reflected in the company’s
international sales, solidifying its position as a big-league player in the international marketplace.

The fast food giant was recently upgraded by Deutsche Bank to “buy” from “hold” thanks to its healthy cash flow and bargain-level
valuation. The success of McDonald’s McCafe business will help to sustain same-store sales growth until the dollar’s weakness
shifts exchange rates to the company’s favor. MCD also has a high
dividend yield, which makes it an attractive investment to investors.

I rate MCD a B or Buy.

NEXT: Stock #4: Amgen (AMGN)