Restaurant Brands International (QSR) Q4 2023 earnings

Restaurant Brands International reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations on Tuesday, fueled by stronger-than-expected Tim Hortons sales.

Shares of the company were unchanged in premarket trading.

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

• Earnings per share: 75 cents adjusted vs. 73 cents expected
• Revenue: $1.82 billion vs. $1.81 billion expected

Restaurant Brands reported fourth-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $508 million, or $1.60 per share, up from $229 million, or 74 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 75 cents per share.

Net sales rose 8% to $1.82 billion.

This quarter marks the first time that Restaurant Brands shared its results using its new reporting structure. The company now shares the results for its individual brands in U.S. and Canada and lumps all of its international locations together under its “international” segment.

Tim Hortons’ same-store sales increased 8.4% in the quarter, topping StreetAccount estimates of 4.7%. The Canadian coffee chain is typically the biggest contributor to Restaurant Brands’ revenue.

Burger King reported same-store sales growth of 6.3%. The chain’s U.S. business is now more than a year into a turnaround plan that includes remodeling restaurants and spending more money on advertising.

Restaurant Brands also recently acquired Burger King’s largest U.S. franchisee, Carrols Restaurant Group, in a $1 billion deal to help the chain renovate locations even faster.

Popeyes’ same-store sales grew 5.5% in the quarter. The fried chicken chain launched chicken wings as a permanent menu item during the period. The wings were the focus of Popeyes’ first-ever Super Bowl commercial, which aired during the game on Sunday.

Restaurant Brands reported international same-store sales growth of 4.6%.