MCD

[Kerim]

I think all of your points are valid, Alex, and (if you believe the headlines, anyway) a lot of other people seem to agree. But no matter how much I read, I just can't bring myself to worry about MCD. Every time I look there are plenty of customers there, and eventually, they'll hit on a tweak to the formula that gets them back on track again (even if that means some variant on "back to the basics"). They've got top-notch real estate all over the planet, and the earnings lull and stock action just don't bear out the "McDonald's is doomed" story. Sometime in the next two to six years, the tide will turn and all we'll see are headlines praising MCD's execution, the share price will advance into the $120s, where it will "languish" for several years, at which point the doom-sayers can start all over again.

I could easily be wrong, of course, but this is my best guess!