Is McDonald's an "inevitable" company? · Transcript

WarrenI just wanted to ask you if you feel that McDonald's has the same ability to dominate the way Coca-Cola and Gillette has. In the annual report, we talked about Coca-Cola and Gillette in terms of their base business being what I call the inevitables. But that related, obviously, to the soft drink business in the case of Coca-Cola and the shaving products with Gillette. It doesn't extend necessarily everything they do. But fortunately, in both those companies, those are very important products. I would say that in the food business, you would never get the total certainty of dominance that you would get in products like Coca-Cola and Gillette. People move around in the food business from where they eat from – they may favor McDonald's, but they will go to different places at different times. And somebody starts shaving with a Gillette sensor. Plus is very unlikely to go elsewhere, in my view. So they do not – you just – you never would get in the food business, in my judgment, quite the inevitability that you would get in the soft drink business with a Coca-Cola. You'll never get it again in the soft drink business. I mean, it took 100 – I guess the 1886, so it would be 111 years to get to the point where they are. And the infrastructure is incredible. And so I wouldn't put it quite in. in the same class in terms of an availability. That doesn't mean it can be a better stock investment depending on the price. But you're not going to get the price from me and knowing Charlie, I doubt if you'll get the price from him, but we'll give him a chance. He's breathing, folks. He's breathing.