Restaurant Brands International earnings top estimates, fueled by Burger King turnaround

Restaurant Brands International on Wednesday reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, fueled by another quarter of strong international growth and a successful turnaround at Burger King U.S.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 86 cents adjusted vs. 82 cents expected
• Revenue: $2.26 billion vs. $2.24 billion expected

Restaurant Brands reported first-quarter net income attributable to common shareholders of $338 million, or 97 cents per share, up from $159 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding non-recurring expenses and other items, the restaurant company earned 86 cents per share.

Revenue rose 7% to $2.26 billion.

Restaurant Brands’ same-store sales increased 3.2% in the quarter, fueled by strong growth at Burger King’s U.S. locations and the company’s international restaurants.

Outside of the U.S. and Canada, Restaurant Brands’ international business saw same-store sales jump 5.7%, beating the estimates of 5.1% growth projected by Wall Street analysts surveyed by StreetAccount. International Burger King restaurants, which represents the bulk of the segment, saw same-store sales increase 5.4%.

Burger King reported same-store sales growth of 5.8%, topping StreetAccount estimates of a 3.5% increase. The chain’s U.S. business has been renovating its restaurants, upgrading its Whopper ingredients and offering consistent value items.

Tim Hortons’ same-store sales ticked up 1.6%, below StreetAccount estimates of 2.5% growth.

Popeyes was the laggard of the portfolio again for the quarter. The fried chicken chain reported same-store sales declines of 6.5%, a steeper decrease than the 1.5% slide forecast by Wall Street.

Faced with stiffer competition and more value-conscious consumers, Popeyes is trying to revive sales by focusing on its operations and core menu items.