MCD options flow: unusual options activity in McDonalds Corp.
Updated 28 September 2026, 09:54 ET
Over the last week the tape recorded 267 unusual options prints in McDonalds Corp. (MCD), $20.0M of tracked premium, leaning bearish. Bullish premium was $6.5M against $10.3M bearish; $14.7M went into calls and $5.3M into puts, a put call ratio of 0.36. The largest print was $908K of MCD 21 Jan 2028 $220 calls on 21 September 2026, swept at bid. The last session with prints, 28 September 2026, added 2 prints and $83K of premium. MCD closed at $236.50 on 25 September 2026, down 0.2%.
This week's unusual flow
Prints from 21 September 2026 to 28 September 2026, 6 sessions. Delayed tier: every print is shown twenty minutes after it executed, and the page is rebuilt after each session.
Net premium is bullish minus bearish premium. The put call ratio is put premium divided by call premium, weighted by money rather than by contract count. Sweeps is the share of prints executed across several exchanges at once. Read the guide: Reading the Pulse.
Largest prints of the week
| Date | Contract | Type | Size | Open int. | Premium | Execution | Sentiment | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 2026 | MCD 21 Jan 2028 $220 calls | Sweep | 189 | 188 | $908K | At bid | Bearish | High conviction |
| 21 Sep 2026 | MCD 17 Sep 2027 $270 calls | Trade | 500 | 283 | $872K | At bid | Bearish | High conviction |
| 21 Sep 2026 | MCD 21 Jan 2028 $280 calls | Trade | 350 | 673 | $667K | At bid | Bearish | Notable |
| 23 Sep 2026 | MCD 16 Oct 2026 $245 calls | Sweep | 1,564 | 45 | $426K | At ask | Neutral | High conviction |
| 21 Sep 2026 | MCD 21 Jan 2028 $280 calls | Trade | 175 | 673 | $333K | At bid | Bearish | Notable |
| 23 Sep 2026 | MCD 17 Sep 2027 $210 puts | Trade | 300 | 21 | $318K | At ask | Neutral | Notable |
| 22 Sep 2026 | MCD 21 Jan 2028 $260 calls | Trade | 100 | 735 | $284K | At bid | Bearish | Notable |
| 23 Sep 2026 | MCD 17 Dec 2027 $330 puts | Trade | 30 | 370 | $273K | At bid | Bullish | |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MCD 17 Jun 2027 $250 puts | Sweep | 98 | 1,761 | $237K | Above ask | Bearish | High conviction |
| 22 Sep 2026 | MCD 21 Jan 2028 $300 calls | Trade | 150 | 4,440 | $227K | At ask | Neutral | |
| 23 Sep 2026 | MCD 21 Jan 2028 $165 calls | Sweep | 27 | 3 | $214K | At ask | Bullish | High conviction |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MCD 20 Nov 2026 $240 calls | Sweep | 200 | 1,018 | $193K | Below bid | Bearish | High conviction |
Size above open interest means the trade opened a position larger than everything that existed in the contract the night before. Above ask and below bid are the most aggressive executions. Read the guide: Size versus open interest.
Where the money is aimed
| Expiry | Prints | Premium | Calls share | Net premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Jan 2028 | 43 | $5.0M | 99% | -$2.3M |
| 17 Sep 2027 | 19 | $1.9M | 73% | -$786K |
| 17 Jun 2027 | 26 | $1.7M | 53% | -$355K |
| 16 Oct 2026 | 22 | $1.6M | 57% | -$98K |
| 20 Nov 2026 | 23 | $1.6M | 63% | -$198K |
| 19 Mar 2027 | 23 | $1.5M | 92% | -$155K |
The most premium, $5.0M, is aimed at the 21 Jan 2028 expiry; the nearest expiry with unusual prints is 16 Oct 2026.
A print in a contract expiring this week is a view about the next few days, often about a known event; a print months out is a different kind of statement. Read the guide: 0DTE options flow.
The last session, 28 September 2026
| Date | Contract | Type | Size | Open int. | Premium | Execution | Sentiment | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sep 2026 | MCD 21 Jan 2028 $210 calls | Sweep | 10 | 132 | $45K | At bid | Bearish | |
| 28 Sep 2026 | MCD 21 Jan 2028 $220 calls | Sweep | 10 | 517 | $39K | At bid | Bearish | Notable |
Every print in MCD with its full detail, the live tape, one tap filters and saved screeners: open MCD in Options Sentiment Screener.
Price
The live quote and the price chart sit beside the ticker's flow in the app: open MCD in Options Sentiment Screener.
Analysts
The most recent analyst targets on file, from 18 firms, have a median of $302, 27.9% above the last close.
Calls bought at a strike above the average target are a bet that the analysts are too cautious; puts far below the price in a name they like are protection or a strong disagreement. Read the guide: Reading one ticker's flow.
About McDonalds Corp.
- Exchange
- NYSE
- Sector
- Consumer Discretionary
- Industry
- Restaurants, Hotels, Motels
- Headquarters
- Oak Brook, Illinois
- Website
- corporate.mcdonalds.com
McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises McDonald's restaurants in the United States and internationally. Its restaurants offer hamburgers and cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches and nuggets, wraps, fries, salads, oatmeal, shakes, desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, soft drinks, coffee, and beverages. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 40,031 restaurants.
In the same sector
Flow pages for other Consumer Discretionary names in the S&P 500:
AMZN Amazon Com Inc.TSLA Tesla, Inc.HD Home Depot, Inc.TJX TJX Companies Inc.BKNG Booking Holdings Inc.SBUX Starbucks Corp.LOW Lowes Companies Inc.MAR Marriott International Inc.
Learn
- What unusual options activity means
- Reading one ticker's flow
- Sweeps, blocks and where a trade printed
- Size versus open interest
- Bullish or bearish, how a print's sentiment is inferred
- The conviction score and whale prints
The live tape for MCD with every print's execution detail, one tap filters for calls, puts, sweeps and 0DTE, saved screeners and, for Realtime subscribers, push alerts and no delay. The same screen is in the iOS and Android apps.
Open MCD in Options Sentiment Screener