Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, fast-food giant McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) has earned a respected four-star ranking. While five-star stocks have been the best performers, our data has shown that four-star stocks still outshine the market by a significant margin, and shouldn't be taken lightly. Conversely, low-rated stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at McDonald's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

McDonald's facts

Headquarters (founded)

Oak Brook, Illinois (1948)

Market Cap

$63.32 billion

Industry

Restaurants

TTM Revenue

$23.71 billion

Management

CEO James Skinner (since 2004)
COO Ralph Alvarez (since 2006)

Return on Equity (average last three years)

20.9%

Dividend Yield

3.6%

Competitors

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)
Burger King Holdings (NYSE:BKC)

CAPS members bullish on MCD also bullish on

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)

CAPS members bearish on MCD also bearish on

Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT)
General Motors 

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 3,314 of the 3,538 members who have rated McDonald's -- some 94% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include CAPS All-Star murugan2 and colonelnelson.

Two weeks ago, murugan2 tapped McDonald's as a defensive way to dine: "This recession could be the death knell for some "casual dining" places like Chilis, Applebees etc.... Micky D's is going to start qualifying as a night out for a lot more people."

In a more recent pitch from last week, gameguru shares that sentiment, writing:

MCD may not be recession-proof, but it is surely recession resistant. Those that cannot afford to eat out at nicer places are trading down to the dollar menu. MCD is also, amazingly, managing to capture the tradedown from [Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)] to MCD coffee. Astonishing.

Now you can pick up this American monster while it is yielding a near 4% dividend that looks solid as a rock. While the market falls, MCD should hold relatively steady and provide some of those highly desired green points.

What do you think about McDonald's, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 120,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.