The stock market declined on Monday as AI stocks came under pressure following calls from prominent AI leaders for greater caution around the pace of AI development.
Meanwhile, rising oil prices pushed the 10-year Treasury yield briefly above 5%, fueling concerns over persistent inflation and the possibility of another Federal Reserve rate hike.
Overall, S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 7,620, while Nasdaq slid 0.6% to 26,186.
Chart of the Day
Here is the one-year chart of McDonald’s (MCD) as of September 8, 2026, when the stock was at $256.
The reason for its decline is profit growth has slowed from 10% a quarter to 6%. Profit growth has been just 6% in each of the past two quarters, with 6% growth expected the next two quarters. That is below the 10% growth we like to see from this stock.
Revenue growth followed a similar trend, easing from 10% 3QtrsAgo to 9% 2QtrsAgo, and just 4% last quarter.
Management attributed slow growth last quarter to execution rather than strategy. However, David Sharek, Founder of School of Hard Stocks, thinks the issue is people are tight on cash, and weight loss drugs are causing people to skip meals and eat smaller portions.
On the bright side, the stock is now a good deal, as its P/E is only 20.
MCD is part of our Conservative Growth Portfolio.
