Topic: How To Invest

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, October 27, 2017

Article Excerpt

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC., $65.15, symbol QSR on New York, is the world’s third-largest fast-food operator after McDonald’s (No. 1) and Yum Brands (No. 2). It has 16,253 Burger King, 4,680 Tim Hortons (coffee and donuts) and 2,809 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (fried chicken) outlets in over 100 countries. In the three months ended September 30, 2017, the company’s overall sales rose 12.4%, to $1.21 billion from $1.08 billion a year earlier. That matched the consensus forecast. The higher sales are mainly due to the purchase of the Popeye’s chain in March 2017 for $1.64 billion. As well, same-store sales improved 3.6% at Burger King and 0.3% at Tim Hortons. However, same-store sales fell 1.8% at Popeyes. If you exclude costs related to the Popeyes acquisition, the company earned $275.6 million in the quarter. That’s a gain of 36.8% from $201.4 million a year earlier. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings rose 34.9%, to $0.58 from $0.43. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.49. Restaurant…