RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $40.97 - New York symbol QSR

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $40.97 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (212-333-3810; www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 467.1 million; Market cap: $19.1 billion; Dividend yield: 0.9%) took its current form on December 12, 2014, as a result of Burger King Worldwide’s (old symbol BKW) acquisition of Tim Hortons Inc. (old symbol THI).

Restaurant Brands is the world’s third-largest fastfood operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 14,372 Burger King restaurants and 4,671 Tim Hortons outlets in 100 countries.

In the three months ended December 31, 2014, the company lost $514.2 million, or $2.52 a share, compared to a profit of $66.8 million, or $0.19 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Excluding merger-related costs and other unusual items, operating earnings rose 23.1%.

Overall sales jumped 57.0%, to $416.3 million from $265.2 million a year earlier. Same-store sales rose 4.1% at Tim Hortons and 3.0% at Burger King.

Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital now owns 51% of Restaurant Brands. 3G has considerable experience acquiring and running food and beverage companies. It also cuts costs at the firms it buys, including through layoffs.

Restaurant Brands International is a hold.

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