Updating Restaurant Brands International Inc., Cintas Corp. and Idexx Laboratories Inc.

Article Excerpt

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. $62 (www.rbi.com) operates 16,253 Burger King, 4,680 Tim Hortons (coffee and donuts) and 2,809 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (fried chicken) outlets. Those fast-food locations are spread across 100-plus countries. An ongoing feud between the company and its Tim Hortons franchisees threatens to dampen sales and earnings growth. The franchisees believe that Restaurant Brands, controlled by Brazilian firm 3G Capital, has hurt them by pushing up their costs while Tim Hortons outlets face higher minimum wages in Ontario and Alberta, and possibly other provinces. Hold. CINTAS CORP. $165 (www.cintas.com) completed its $2.2 billion acquisition of Minnesota-based G&K Services Inc. in March 2017. That firm supplies corporate uniforms and other services. As a result, Cintas’s revenue in the quarter ended November 30, 2017, jumped 26.4%, to $1.6 billion from $1.3 billion a year earlier. Excluding acquisition-related costs, earnings per share gained 14.9%, to $1.31 from $1.14. Buy. IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $184 (www.idexx.com) makes equipment that veterinarians use to detect…