Can McDonald's Tap a $100B Beverage Opportunity in 2026?

McDonald’s Corporation MCD is placing increased emphasis on beverages as a growth avenue, identifying a global category opportunity of more than $100 billion. Management indicated that new beverage offerings are planned for launch in the United States and select international markets in 2026. This initiative builds on a U.S. test conducted in the fourth quarter across more than 500 restaurants, which exceeded expectations and provided key learnings for future rollout.

The upcoming beverage lineup, to be introduced under the McCafé brand, will include energy drinks, indulgent iced coffees, fruity refreshers and crafted sodas. Per management, these offerings drove incremental occasions across different dayparts during testing, including snack, dinner and evening. The company also noted that the test resulted in a higher average check, reflecting favorable customer response to the expanded beverage range.

McDonald's highlighted that multiple beverage categories performed well during the pilot, including crafted sodas, refreshers and energy drinks. It also referenced its Red Bull collaboration as part of its beverage initiatives, with plans to continue building on this partnership in the United States and other markets. Learnings from the U.S. test are being applied as the company refines recipes and prepares for broader expansion.

In addition to the United States, the company conducted a smaller beverage test in Australia toward the end of 2025. Insights from this test were used to refine recipes and tailor flavor profiles to local preferences. As McDonald's moves toward a wider rollout in 2026, management reiterated that it will focus on offering products that meet customer preferences while leveraging insights gained from recent testing initiatives.

Beverage Innovation Across Key Players

Beverage innovation continues to be a focus for Starbucks Corporation SBUX and Dutch Bros Inc. BROS, with both companies highlighting product development and beverage platform expansion in their recent updates.

Starbucks reported demand for espresso-based and tea beverages, along with growth in its cold foam platform. The company also referenced ongoing menu innovation, including the introduction of new beverage formats and flavors. SBUX further highlighted opportunities to expand beverage offerings across dayparts, particularly in the afternoon, with products such as energy drinks, sparkling beverages and other indulgent options.

Meanwhile, Dutch Bros emphasized beverage innovation through its customizable platform, which allows for a wide range of drink combinations. The company highlighted offerings across energy drinks, iced beverages and other specialty drinks. Management stated that these categories are contributing to BROS’ overall growth within the beverage segment.

In this competitive environment, McDonald's is advancing its beverage initiatives, supported by insights from recent testing. As the company scales offerings across markets, the initiative could become a comp growth lever.

MCD’s Stock Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of McDonald's have declined 0.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s 10.5% fall.

MCD One-Year Price Performance

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From a valuation standpoint, MCD trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 7.58, above the industry’s average of 3.34.

MCD’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MCD’s 2026 and 2027 earnings implies a year-over-year uptick of 8.4% and 9.2%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2026 have declined in the past 30 days.

EPS Trend of MCD Stock

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MCD’s Zacks Rank

MCD stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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