New menu items spur QSR

Article Excerpt

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $42.61 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 467.0 million; Market cap: $19.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%) is the world’s thirdlargest fast-food operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 14,528 Burger King outlets and 4,776 Tim Hortons locations. In the three months ended June 30, 2015, the company earned $142.7 million, up 27.3% from $112.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 25.0%, to $0.30 from $0.24, on more shares outstanding. Overall sales fell 1.6%, to $1.04 billion from $1.06 billion. That’s because the high U.S. dollar hurt the contribution from Restaurant Brands’ overseas operations. Same-store sales rose 5.5% at Tim Hortons, thanks to new lunch menu items and strong demand for its dark roast coffee. Burger King’s same-store sales gained 6.7%, also due to new products, such as a mozzarella bacon cheeseburger and chicken fries. The company has raised its quarterly dividend by 20.0%. The shares now yield 1.1%. Restaurant Brands…