McDonald's Corp. Downgraded To 'BBB+' On Planned $10 Billion Increased Capital Return To Shareholders; Outlook Stable

McDonald's announced its intent to return an additional $10 billion to shareholders by the end of 2016, substantially funded by debt. We are lowering the corporate credit rating to 'BBB+' from 'A-' since the company's various credit metrics will now be measurably worse than our previous expectations. The outlook is stable, reflecting our view that there will be continued progress in the U.S. and that credit metrics will not rise above 4x over the next two years as the company balances further share repurchases and a substantial dividend with the timing of success in the business turnaround. NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 10, 2015--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered all of its ratings, including the corporate credit rating, on

...+ McDonald's announced its intent to return an additional $10 billion to shareholders by the end of 2016, substantially funded by debt. + We are lowering the corporate credit rating to '###+' from 'A-' since the company's various credit metrics will now be measurably worse than our previous expectations. + The outlook is stable, reflecting our view that there will be continued progress in the U.S. and that credit metrics will not rise above 4x over the next two years as the company balances further share repurchases and a substantial dividend with the timing of success in the business turnaround. NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Nov. 10, 2015--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered all of its ratings, including the corporate credit rating, on Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corp. to '###+' from 'A-'. The outlook is stable. The commercial paper rating remains 'A-2'. The downgrade reflects our assessment of the higher leverage from the sharply higher debt load planned in 2016 to return an...

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