Charity Portfolio: McDonald's, Main Street Capital or Waste Management? The Third Community Vote

Round three in the community charity portfolio: after McDonald's won the first vote and VICI Properties the second, you get to vote again on which stock is bought next for at least €1,000. Up for the vote this time are McDonald's, Main Street Capital and Waste Management – the stocks you suggested most often. Three very different dividend payers: an aristocrat, a high-yield BDC and a defensive quality name.

As always, first the note: this is not investment advice and not a buy recommendation. I only show my personal opinion and my personal investments. I'm responsible for my money, you for yours – always make your own decision.

A quick look at the portfolio

The community charity portfolio currently holds the first two purchases: McDonald's (from the first vote) and VICI Properties (from the second), together around €2,200, roughly split 50/50. The first dividends are already coming in – and once meaningful amounts accumulate, donations go out quarterly. The full portfolio is, as always, shared live via Parqet*: finlen.de/spenden-depot.

The three candidates compared

All three are genuine quality stocks and strong dividend payers – just with very different characters. Let's look at them in detail (all metrics from the stock screener Aktienfinder and its English sister site dividendstocks.cash, as of 16 September 2026).

McDonald's: The dividend aristocrat

The world's largest fast-food chain with over 40,000 locations – and above all a licensing and real-estate business: most restaurants are run by independent franchisees, and McDonald's earns from fees and rent. For a charity portfolio, that's a rock-solid, predictable building block.

• Dividend: around 2.9% yield, paid quarterly, most recently $1.86 per quarter
• History: per the screener, increased every year for around 50 years – a clear dividend aristocrat (McDonald's itself referred to the 49th consecutive increase in October 2025)
• Growth: around 7.9% per year over 10 years, a good 8% over 5 years
• Safety: payout ratio of 59.3% on adjusted earnings – plenty of buffer
• Valuation: P/E around 20 versus a 10-year average of 23.4 – depending on the calculation, roughly 14–17% below fair value

Main Street Capital: The 7% BDC with a monthly dividend

The odd one out in the trio – and the biggest dividend payer. Main Street Capital, based in Houston, is a Business Development Company (BDC): a listed investment company that provides debt and equity capital to mid-sized US companies. Because BDCs have to distribute most of their income, the dividends are correspondingly high.

• Dividend: around 7.2% yield – paid monthly, plus a quarterly special dividend. That works out to 15–16 payments a year
• Growth: a strong 11.24% per year over 5 years
• Watch the payout ratio: the 104.4% looks high, but needs context for a BDC. The regular monthly dividend is well covered by ongoing income (around 76%); the special dividends are partly funded from realised gains. The NAV per share still rose in 2026 – so the ratio isn't a red flag here, but it's a point to watch
• Valuation: P/E around 14.4 – roughly at the 10-year average, i.e. fairly valued

Waste Management: The defensive waste giant

The largest waste-disposal and recycling provider in North America – a wonderfully boring, extremely defensive business: waste is generated no matter the economy. That's exactly what makes WM a reliable dividend-growth stock.

• Dividend: around 1.7% yield, quarterly – the lowest in the trio, but the fastest-growing
• History: increased every year for 22 years, most recently by a hefty +14.5%
• Growth: 8.82% per year over 10 years, around 10.9% over 5 years – the growth champion of the trio
• Safety: payout ratio of just 47.3% on adjusted earnings – lots of room
• Valuation: P/E around 28 versus 26.1 over 10 years – currently slightly overvalued (around 7.5% above fair value)

Side by side

	McDonald's	Main Street	Waste Mgmt
Yield	~2.9%	~7.2%	~1.7%
Rhythm	quarterly	monthly + special	quarterly
Increases for	~50 yrs	7 yrs	22 yrs
Growth 10y p.a.	7.9%	6.6%	8.8%
Payout ratio	59.3%	104.4%*	47.3%
Valuation	~14–17% below fair	fair	~7.5% above fair

*for Main Street on adjusted earnings, see the note above.

In short: McDonald's is the attractively valued aristocrat, Main Street delivers the biggest dividend right away (with the most explaining to do), and Waste Management is the most defensive growth name with a still-small yield today. For a charity portfolio that lives off its distributions, Main Street's yield is of course tempting – but in the end, you decide.

How to vote

As always, the vote runs on two tracks:

• On YouTube: under the video you'll find a separate comment for each of the three stocks. A like = a vote. If you like two of them, you can like both
• On Instagram: there's a parallel poll in the story on @FinanzLennard

The votes from both platforms are added together, and the winning stock goes straight into the portfolio for at least €1,000. I'll add the result and the purchase here and in the next update afterwards.

You'll find all articles in the series in the Charity Portfolio category – from the concept through the previous votes to the updates with the purchases. Have fun voting!