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McDonald's and Home Depot stand out as dividend payers with strong free cash flow (FCF), the cash left after capital spending. McDonald's had FCF of $3.7 billion in the first half, against $2.6 billion in dividend payments. About 95% of its more than 46,000 restaurants are franchised, which keeps its costs low. It raised its December quarterly payout 3.8% to $1.93, a 50th straight annual increase, for a 3.2% yield. Home Depot's FCF was $9.7 billion in the first half, against $4.6 billion in dividends. Sales have been tepid, with second-quarter comparable sales up 1.7%, but adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 5.1% to $4.92. It has raised dividends every year since 2010 and yields 3%.

McDonald's brings giant Fry Aid machines to three college towns. Then it turns out they dispense free food cards, not fries. Oct. 19 2026, Updated 11:03 a.m. ET McDonald's massive Fry Aid machines were expected to give out free food on college campuses during the homecoming celebrations. But the machine's outcome is a bit trickier than that, considering that it doesn't dispense free fries. Rather, these giant machines from the fast-food chain distribute free food cards that students can then use to purchase food. McDonald's Fry Aid machine scheme in three U.S. College towns. According to the latest reports, McDonald's was set to launch the oversized Fry Aid machines in three college towns, i.e., Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Saturday, October 17, via Dexerto. Each location's machine has an operating window from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time, giving students five hours to visit and grab a McDonald's Arch Card. This promotion appears to have stemmed from the viral combination of McDonald's fries and Diet Coke - a popular recovery meal on social media among students. What are the three college town Fry Aid machines' locations? Apparently, since students view the fries-and-Diet Coke combination as a way to recharge after a busy week, per the latest social media trend, the food chain decided to time this promotion around Homecoming week for students' benefit. The locations where students can gain these benefits are: * Ann Arbor, Michigan: 812 Monroe St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104 * Atlanta, Georgia: 170 Northside Dr. SW, Suite 96, Atlanta, GA 30313 * Baton Rouge, Louisiana: 120-124 W Chimes St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802 Through these machines, students can now grab free food during the Homecoming celebrations within the five hours allowed to them to visit and grab an Arch Card. Ask OK Magazine McDonald's other nationwide promotion offer. While the Fry Aid machines are currently limited to three college towns, McDonald's is also offering a separate promotion for customers nationwide. According to this promotion, through the end of 2026, customers can get free fries with any purchase of at least $1 through the food chain's app. Unlike the campus giveaway, though, customers don't need to visit a Fry Aid machine in this nationwide offer. Rather, they can take advantage of the deal wherever the promotion is available. McDonald's previous unusual giveaway. This isn't McDonald's most unusual giveaway, though. Previously, the fast-food chain decided to hand out free bottles of its pickle juice to the runners and spectators participating in the Chicago Marathon. Dubbed "Pickle Boost," the limited-time promotion saw McDonald's bottle the brine from its signature pickles. The chain offered this drink as a potential way to help runners combat muscle cramps during the race.

McDonald's, Deloitte under fire over alleged menu pricing scheme. By CPI | October 18, 2026 McDonald's Corp. and Deloitte Consulting are facing a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that a technology-driven pricing system allowed the fast-food giant to coordinate menu prices across independently operated restaurants, potentially undermining competition and raising costs for consumers. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Illinois on Oct. 15, alleges that McDonald's relied on confidential transaction information collected from competing franchise locations and company-operated restaurants to generate pricing recommendations, according to an Oct. 16 report by Law360. The complaint also identifies Deloitte as an alleged participant in the pricing arrangement, expanding the legal scrutiny surrounding McDonald's use of data analytics and artificial intelligence in its U.S. restaurant operations. According to Law360, the plaintiffs contend that McDonald's pricing system drew on commercially sensitive information that independently operated restaurants would not ordinarily share with competitors. The lawsuit argues that combining those data through a centralized platform could reduce independent decision-making and facilitate coordinated pricing. The allegations raise questions about the use of sophisticated pricing technology in franchise businesses, where individual operators generally retain authority over the prices charged to customers. Deloitte's alleged role draws scrutiny. The lawsuit alleges that Deloitte played a significant role in supporting the pricing system, including through analytical tools and advisory services used by McDonald's franchise operators. According to a summary of the complaint published by OpenClassActions, the plaintiffs allege that Deloitte developed a Strategic Pricing Analyzer connected to the system used by franchisees to evaluate recommended menu prices. The complaint also claims that Deloitte pricing advisers communicated recommendations and market trends to restaurant operators. The plaintiffs contend that Deloitte's involvement went beyond conventional consulting services and contributed to an arrangement that allegedly reduced price competition among independently owned restaurants. Those allegations have not been established in court, and Deloitte's liability remains a matter for litigation. McDonald's disputes pricing allegations. The latest complaint follows an earlier proposed class action filed Oct. 2 by Illinois consumer Michael Thomas, who accused McDonald's of using a centralized, machine-learning pricing system to influence menu prices across thousands of U.S. restaurants. According to Bloomberg Law, that complaint alleged the system had operated since at least 2019 and relied on confidential restaurant-level sales information to produce pricing recommendations. McDonald's has rejected allegations that its technology fixes prices. In comments reported by The Guardian earlier this month, the company said franchise operators retain control over menu pricing and that its analytical tools are optional resources intended to support business decisions. The company also disputed claims that those tools automatically determine prices or coordinate pricing decisions between restaurants. The October lawsuit naming Deloitte represents a further challenge to the company's position that its pricing recommendations preserve franchisee independence. Please add Competition Policy International to your preferred sources list so its news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks! Rising prices intensify consumer concerns. The litigation comes amid growing public attention to restaurant affordability and the increasing use of algorithmic tools to guide commercial pricing decisions. McDonald's previously disclosed that its average U.S. menu prices increased approximately 40% between 2019 and 2024, according to company information cited by The Guardian. That increase has attracted scrutiny as consumers have become more sensitive to the cost of fast food. The lawsuits seek to connect the company's pricing practices with alleged anticompetitive conduct. However, rising menu prices alone do not establish unlawful coordination, and the plaintiffs would need to demonstrate that the challenged practices violated applicable antitrust laws. The broader legal issue centers on whether technology that aggregates confidential information from competing businesses can facilitate coordinated behavior even when those businesses retain formal authority to make their own pricing decisions. Algorithmic pricing faces wider legal challenges. The McDonald's dispute adds to a growing number of legal challenges involving software-based pricing systems across U.S. industries. Regulators and private plaintiffs have increasingly examined whether algorithms that analyze competitors' confidential information can weaken competition or encourage businesses to adopt similar pricing strategies. For franchise businesses, the distinction between providing market intelligence and facilitating coordinated prices could become particularly consequential. The cases against McDonald's and Deloitte remain at an early stage. The allegations have not been proven, and no court has determined that either company engaged in unlawful price fixing. New York ski mountain sale resolves long-running antitrust fight. By CPI | October 18, 2026 Intermountain Management has sold a ski resort in central New York that it was accused of acquiring to eliminate a nearby competitor, setting the stage for the resolution of a four-year antitrust dispute involving the state's winter sports industry. The sale of Toggenburg Mountain, near Syracuse, was announced Friday by the New York attorney general's office, according to an Oct. 16 report by Matthew Perlman in Law360. The buyer intends to reopen the mountain, potentially restoring a skiing option that disappeared after Intermountain acquired the property. The transaction follows a lawsuit filed in 2022 accusing Intermountain of reducing competition by purchasing and closing a rival ski operation. State regulators argued that the acquisition strengthened the company's control over the regional market for ski season passes, limiting consumer choice. Buyer plans to restore ski operations. Local businessman Douglas Wheeler purchased Toggenburg under a settlement negotiated with New York Attorney General Letitia James. Wheeler plans to renovate the property and resume skiing operations during the 2027-28 winter season, according to the attorney general's Oct. 16 announcement. The agreement also requires Intermountain to pay $30,000 to New York state. For four years, the company is barred from attempting to buy back Toggenburg or enforcing an employee-recruitment restriction associated with the earlier acquisition. The settlement addresses a dispute that began in 2021, when Intermountain, already the operator of Song Mountain and Labrador Mountain, purchased Toggenburg and promptly closed it. According to the attorney general's office, Intermountain also secured a five-year agreement preventing Toggenburg's former owners from operating competing businesses within 30 miles. The arrangement included restrictions on recruiting Intermountain employees. State officials said the closure left Intermountain as the sole operator in the Syracuse-area ski market, contributing to increased prices and congestion at the remaining resorts. Court ruling strengthened state's case. The legal proceedings reached a turning point in March 2025, when a New York state judge ruled that Intermountain had violated state antitrust law through its acquisition and closure of Toggenburg and associated restrictions on competition. The ruling gave the attorney general's office a stronger position in seeking a sale that would return the property to its previous use. Please add Competition Policy International to your preferred sources list so its news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks! Intermountain had pursued a different outcome, seeking approval to sell the mountain for residential development rather than restore skiing operations, according to the attorney general's office. The settlement ultimately secured a buyer committed to reopening the facility. Competition and consumer impact. The dispute highlights how state antitrust enforcement can extend beyond large corporate mergers to acquisitions affecting relatively small regional markets. For regulators, the central concern was not simply Intermountain's ownership of multiple resorts, but the removal of a competing business that had previously offered consumers an alternative. In a statement announcing the settlement, James said restoring competition would benefit skiers through greater choice and potentially improved pricing and service. The attorney general characterized the transaction as a remedy for market concentration that had harmed consumers and restricted employment opportunities. The sale does not immediately restore competition, however. Toggenburg remains closed, and its return depends on the completion of Wheeler's planned improvements. The new owner's family has longstanding ties to the property. According to Spectrum News, the Wheeler family previously owned the land on which the resort was developed and intends to modernize the facility while preserving its identity as a local skiing destination. The transaction closes a significant chapter in New York's enforcement action against Intermountain while leaving the practical task of reviving the mountain to its new owner.