Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-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.

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

McDonald's facts

Headquarters (founded)

Oak Brook, Ill. (1948)

Market Cap

$77.6 billion

Industry

Restaurants

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$24.07 billion

Management

CEO James Skinner (since 2004)
CFO Peter Bensen (since 2008)

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)

33%

Dividend Yield

3.3%

Competitors

Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX)
Wendy's/Arby's (NYSE: WEN)
Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 95% of the 5,100 members who have rated McDonald's believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include georcole and shanelofgren.

Late last year, georcole touched on the unhealthy tailwinds working in McDonald's favor: "They pay a 3%+ dividend and continue to grow and outperform the S&P despite the economy. I do not recommend this 'food' to anyone, but since so many people are into eating junk, and getting fat doing it, I do recommend the stock as an investment."

Currently, McDonald's even trades at a relatively cheap forward P/E multiple of 13.4. That's a discount to rivals Starbucks (17.7), Wendy's/Arby's (22.4), and Yum! (16.8), as well as other fast-food stocks such as Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) at 33.0 and Sonic (Nasdaq: SONC) at 15.3.

CAPS member shanelofgren elaborates on the bull case:

They have been consistently increasing their margins on their existing restaurants since their current CEO took over. ... They've added more menu items, redesigned interiors, optimized kitchens and drive thru operations, trained their staff better. As much as they've been able to do so far to improve their restaurants and their image (and thus improve their margins), there are still many restaurants left to be overhauled. ...

They are already pursuing a plan for aggressive growth in China (which is very far from over saturation) and their international experience means that they should be able to successfully expand into other growing markets as well.

Even without their growth prospects, they still pay a respectable dividend and have been incredibly stable through the turbulence of the past 2 years.

What do you think about McDonald's, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!