Restaurant Brands’ global footprint of over 32,000 restaurants across 100 countries provides significant diversification benefits and exposure to growing international markets where quick-service restaurant penetration remains underdeveloped. The underlying fundamentals of the business remain strong.
Restaurant Brands continues to take advantage of expanding international demand. That includes buying out its partners’ stakes in Burger King China and expanding Firehouse Subs in Mexico.
Meanwhile, the company recently raised its dividend and yields a solid 3.7% for investors.
RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. (Toronto symbol QSR; www.rbi.com) has 32,149 fast-food outlets in over 100 countries. Its top banners are Burger King, Tim Hortons (coffee and donuts), Popeyes (fried chicken) and Firehouse Subs.
In May 2024, the company acquired the remaining 85% of Carrols Restaurant Group (Nasdaq symbol TAST) that it didn’t already own, for $974 million. (All amounts in U.S. dollars). Carrols, the largest Burger King franchisee in the U.S., owned 1,020 Burger King and 60 Popeyes restaurants in the U.S. Restaurant Brands will invest $500 million to modernize 600 of those Burger King locations.
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In February 2025, Restaurant Brands bought its partners’ stakes in Burger King China for $158 million and is seeking a new local partner. Specifically, Restaurant Brands has acquired the interests from TFI Asia Holdings BV and Pangaea Two Acquisition Holdings XXIII Ltd. (Cartesian).
The company now owns nearly 100% of the business and is looking for a new local partner to invest in the operations and become the controlling shareholder.
Restaurant Brands says TFI helped Burger King grow in China from around 60 restaurants in 2012 to about 1,500 today and will continue growing its operations in Turkey as one of Restaurant Brands’ largest business partners.
The company will also continue to be a partner with Cartesian in growing Tim Hortons in China.
Meanwhile, Restaurant Brands recently entered into an agreement to develop and grow Firehouse Subs in Mexico. It plans to open 100 restaurants in Monterrey and other major cities in the next five years.
Partner Foodplay is set to open the first Firehouse Subs restaurant this year in Monterrey, Nuevo León, followed by additional openings in the metropolitan area.
Firehouse Subs currently has over 1,300 restaurants across the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Albania, and the United Arab Emirates, with plans to open its first restaurants in Brazil and Australia later this year. This new agreement marks another milestone in the brand’s growth strategy in Latin America and around the world.
Growth Stocks: International expansion delivers strong growth
In the quarter ended March 31, 2025, Restaurant Brands’s sales rose 21.3%, to $2.11 billion from $1.74 billion a year earlier. Consolidated system-wide sales grow 2.8% year-over-year, including 8.6% in International.
The company earned $0.75 a share before one-time items in the quarter, up 2.7% from $0.73.
Restaurant Brands raised your quarterly dividend by 6.9% with the April 2025 payment. The new annual rate of $2.48 U.S. yields 3.7%.
Recommendation in The Successful Investor: Restaurant Brands Int’l Inc. is a buy.
