Which was the better investment since 2010, Chipotle or McDonald's?

Chipotle was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Chipotle in 2010 would be worth $17,624 today, compared to $6,740 for McDonald's.

What would $1,000 in Chipotle vs McDonald's be worth today?

$1,000 invested in Chipotle in 2010 would be worth $17,624 today (+1662.4%). The same $1,000 in McDonald's would be worth $6,740 (+574.0%).

How do Chipotle and McDonald's compare to the S&P 500 since 2010?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2010 would be worth $9,294 today (+829.4%). Chipotle returned $17,624 and McDonald's returned $6,740 over the same period.

Chipotle vs McDonald's: $1,000 invested since 2010

CMG vs MCD · Data through 2026-06-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2010 would be worth

ChipotleWinner

$17,617

+1661.7%

McDonald's

$6,739

+573.9%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $9,294(+829.4%)

Growth of $1,000

Chipotle vs. McDonald's vs. S&P 500, 2010 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Chipotle vs. McDonald's, 2010 to present

Year	Chipotle	Return	McDonald's	Return	S&P 500
2010	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2011	$2,270	+127.0%	$1,219	+21.9%	$1,222
2012	$3,808	+67.8%	$1,688	+38.5%	$1,273
2013	$3,183	-16.4%	$1,676	-0.7%	$1,483
2014	$5,722	+79.8%	$1,710	+2.1%	$1,801
2015	$7,359	+28.6%	$1,737	+1.5%	$2,056
2016	$4,696	-36.2%	$2,406	+38.5%	$2,038
2017	$4,369	-7.0%	$2,456	+2.1%	$2,445
2018	$3,367	-22.9%	$3,517	+43.2%	$3,088
2019	$5,490	+63.1%	$3,767	+7.1%	$3,013
2020	$8,986	+63.7%	$4,618	+22.6%	$3,659
2021	$15,343	+70.8%	$4,597	-0.4%	$4,288
2022	$15,401	+0.4%	$5,870	+27.7%	$5,282
2023	$17,068	+10.8%	$6,186	+5.4%	$4,850
2024	$24,972	+46.3%	$6,925	+11.9%	$5,849
2025	$30,246	+21.1%	$6,995	+1.0%	$7,383
2026	$20,148	-33.4%	$7,810	+11.7%	$8,588

Which came out ahead

Chipotle (CMG) outpaced McDonald's (MCD) over this stretch from 2010. That $1,000 grew to $17,624 in CMG versus $6,740 in MCD as of 2026-06-01, roughly $10,884 more in the end.

In total-return terms the order is clear. Chipotle returned +1662.4% against McDonald's at +574.0%, a gap of about 1088.4 percentage points over the 16.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 18.9% a year for CMG against 12.2% for MCD.

Chipotle cleared a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span while McDonald's fell short of it. The index would have grown that $1,000 to about $9,294, compounding near 14.4% a year. Volatility was not shared evenly. Chipotle moved across a far wider band of yearly returns than McDonald's did. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

This is a record of what already happened, not financial advice or a recommendation of either name. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Chipotle vs McDonald's from a different starting point

Since 2015 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Chipotle since 2010+1662.4%McDonald's since 2010+574.0%

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For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All calculations are based on split-adjusted closing prices from Yahoo Finance and do not account for dividends, taxes, or trading fees. See our methodology and full disclaimer.